Gauff beats world No. 1 Sabalenka to reach title match at 2024 WTA Finals

Coco Gauff repeated the result of the 2023 US Open final to reach the title match at the 2024 WTA Finals. On Friday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the American defeated world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, 7-6(4), 6-3, to advance to the championship match for the first time at the year-end event.

After beating world No. 2 Iga Swiatek and fellow American Jessica Pegula in the group stage, Gauff improved to 5-4 against Sabalenka with her semifinal success. She will take on Chinese Olympic gold medalist Zheng Qinwen in Saturday's final—a rematch of the 2018 Orange Bowl girls' 18s final, won by Gauff. The title match will start at 11 a.m. ET.

The 20-year-old Gauff is the youngest finalist at the WTA Finals since Caroline Wozniacki in 2010 and the youngest player to beat the world No. 1 and No. 2 at the same event since Maria Sharapova at the 2006 US Open. In Saturday's final, she will bid to become the youngest champion at the year-end event since Sharapova in 2004.

Like in last year's US Open final, Gauff frustrated Sabalenka with her speed and defensive skills while also attacking at all the right moments in their semifinal showdown.

Gauff hit 11 winners in a close opening set, breaking Sabalenka as she attempted to serve out the set at 6-5 and then seeing home a 4-0 lead in the tiebreak. The American then rattled off four straight games in set two to build a 4-1 lead. But the drama was just getting started.

After saving seven break points in the longest game of the match by far, Gauff could not fend off an eighth as Sabalenka broke to close to 4-2. Just when it seemed the world No. 1 had all the momentum, Gauff's mental toughness helped her break back at love to move to the brink of victory.

Friday's victory improved Townsend and Siniakova to 4-0 on the week, including a pair of match tiebreak wins in round-robin play. The eighth seeds will take on second seeds Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe in Saturday's title match at 8 a.m. ET.

The Wimbledon champions led 6-0, 4-2 in the semifinals but had to buckle down to close out the win. The pair needed seven match points to wrap up the victory, clinching it with their fifth break of the match.

"When you win a 6-0 set, it's never easy," said Townsend. "We were playing so well and sometimes it's easy to have expectations to continue that, but your opponents adjust and we saw how that ended up.

"More than anything, we held each other up in the times when one was down, the other one was up and vice versa, and then we had our moments where we both came together. I'm super proud of us as a team."