Coco Gauff continued her march towards the Wuhan Open title with a straight-sets win in round three.
The American number one defeated home-favorite Zhang Shuai, 6-3, 6-2, in under an hour to book her place in the Wuhan Open quarterfinals.
Surprisingly, Gauff was broken twice by her Chinese opponent but never looked to be in too much trouble.
She will now prepare to take on Germany’s Laura Siegemund in the quarterfinals, a player who has already beaten a top-ten player in Mirra Andreeva this week.
Looking to give herself the best chance of taking down Siegemund, Gauff was seen making an interesting gesture to her coaching team immediately after her third-round match.
Colin Fleming saw Coco Gauff ask her team to book a practice court straight away
On commentary for Sky Sports, Colin Fleming shared what he noticed Gauff doing when the match finished.
“There you go, just an hour,” he said.
“I think she is gesturing to her team that she wants to jump straight on a practice court and hit a few more balls.
“That pretty much sums up this match, she wasn’t really tested, didn’t really hit too many balls, or play too many long points.”
Fleming then gave an honest assessment of Gauff’s level against Shuai.
“I think it was a good performance, but far from perfect,” he said.
“So she clearly wants to get back on the practice court while she’s still warm and tidy up a few things.”
After producing a near-perfect serving performance in her opening match against Moyuka Uchijima, Gauff’s level dipped in the third round.
| Round | Aces | Double faults | 1st Serve % | Win % on 1st Serve | Win % on 2nd Serve |
| 2R vs Moyuka Uchijima | 5 | 0 | 85% | 89% | 60% |
| 3R vs Zhang Shuai | 3 | 6 | 62% | 64% | 82% |
Should Siegemund play as well as she has so far in Wuhan when she meets Gauff in the quarters, the world number three may need to step things up.
Gauff was, however, aware that she didn’t play her best against Shuai, and said the following in her post-match interview.
“It was a good match, it was a little bit up and down, but happy to be in the next round,” she said.
“It wasn’t my best level at some points, but I’m happy that I got through.”
The 21-year-old then shared her thoughts on Siegemund, a woman she’s played twice before on the WTA Tour.
“She’s a very tricky player, very experienced, it will be another tough match, but I’m looking forward to it,” said Gauff.
Gauff lost their first career meeting in Auckland five years ago before getting her revenge at the US Open in 2023.
- 2023 US Open 1R – Coco Gauff defeated Laura Siegemund, 3-6, 6-2, 6-4
- 2020 ASB Classic 2R – Laura Siegemund defeated Coco Gauff, 5-7, 6-2, 6-3
The two-time major champion was then asked how she spends her time off in China.
“Little carpool karaoke, going to the mall, eating. But I don’t have a lot of time to do stuff, I think I’m probably back on court at 3 PM tomorrow, I’m guessing, so I don’t have a lot of time,” said Gauff.
“But I had a great time in China, and I always look forward to coming here, and hopefully I’ll have more time next year.”
Gauff may be looking forward to returning to China in 2026, but still has work to do in 2025.
But aside from Siegemund, who is standing between Gauff and the Wuhan Open title?
The eight quarterfinalists at the 2025 Wuhan Open
The quarterfinal line-up for the Wuhan Open is stacked, featuring six of the top eight seeds.
- QF 1 – [1] Aryna Sabalenka vs [8] Elena Rybakina
- QF 2 – Katerina Siniakova vs [6] Jessica Pegula
- QF 3 – Laura Siegemund vs [3] Coco Gauff
- QF 4 – [7] Jasmine Paolini vs [2] Iga Swiatek
Ranked number three in the world, Gauff would love nothing more than to beat her biggest rivals, Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek, to the title in Wuhan.
Only time will tell who will emerge victorious at the Wuhan Open, but you certainly won’t want to miss any of the action.
Gauff will return to take on Siegemund in the quarterfinals on Friday, October 10.
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