Coco Gauff has avoided being dumped out of the WTA Finals with a game to spare after a comprehensive win over Jasmine Paolini.
Gauff praised Paolini straight after beating her and will now face Aryna Sabalenka, hoping to win and guarantee a spot in the semifinals.
Gauff wasn’t downbeat after losing to Jessica Pegula in her first match and the beauty of the WTA Finals is that another game is always just around the corner.
Paolini wasn’t able to get into her full stride, but that shouldn’t take anything away from Gauff, who, with this huge victory, has fired a message to the rest of the WTA Tour.
Coco Gauff fires warning to the rest of the WTA Tour
Gauff’s serve is currently a hot talking point among tennis fans and experts, with over 400 double faults coming from the racket of the American in 2025.
Rick Macci believes it won’t be long before Gauff is serving consistently well, and on this showing, there are certainly shoots of a recovery in that sense.
Against Pegula, Gauff served 17 double faults, which is ridiculous to say the least, but she managed to bounce back in the very next match, which is a testament to her character.
Gauff has enlisted the help of Gavin MacMillan to help with her serve, and it would appear that he’s keen to get her shooting in the right direction once again.
Against Paolini, there was an instant response, with Gauff registering just three double faults and her serve overall sending a message to her rivals.
The 21-year-old finished with a second serve percentage of 75% winning 15 of the 20 second serves she was forced to play.
For context, the highest second serve percentage for the entire year on the WTA Tour is Lucie Havlickova, who has won 58.1% of points on her second serve.
Coco Gauff stats vs Jasmine Paolini at the WTA Finals
Although Paolini showed effects of a busy end of the year where she’s been active in singles and doubles competitions, this was still a strong showing from Gauff.
The silly errors that riddled her game with Pegula simply weren’t there, and when that is the case, she’s a very dangerous proposition.
| Coco Gauff stats vs Jasmine Paolini | Total |
| Aces | 0 |
| Double Faults | 3 |
| First Serves Won | 67% |
| Second Serves Won | 75% |
| Unforced Errors | 30 |
| Break Points Won | 4/7 |
It always feels like a challenge to pull Gauff’s game to pieces because ultimately, this is a player who has managed to win two Grand Slam titles during her career.
The buzzword for Gauff has to be consistency and if she can start serving like this more often than not, it’s only a matter of time before more Grand Slam titles fall into her lap.
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