Wuhan Open: Pegula Upsets Sabalenka, Gauff Survives Paolini

The Wuhan Open final has been set after a wild day of semifinal matches.

Jessica Pegula beat Aryna Sabalenka in the Wuhan Open semifinals. | IMAGO / VCG

The Wuhan Open is speeding toward its thrilling conclusion. The WTA 1000 event has been full of exciting play, sweltering heat and upsets. On Saturday morning, the sixth-seeded Jessica Pegula upset top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka. Meanwhile, the third-seeded Coco Gauff defeated the seventh-seeded Jasmine Paolini.

The final match between Pegula and Gauff has been set, and it will have major implications for the WTA Rankings and the Race to the WTA Finals in Riyadh. Below is what tennis fans must know about Saturday's action in China.

Jessica Pegula Upsets Aryna Sabalenka

Entering today's match, we were skeptical about Pegula's chances. The American tennis star was coming off a semifinal run at the China Open and had battled through several three-set matches in the Wuhan Open.

Meanwhile, Sabalenka was fresh. After winning the U.S. Open, the Belarusian star took an extended vacation and missed the start of the Asian Swing. Not to mention, Sabalenka had an 8-2 advantage against Pegula in prior matches and had won the Wuhan Open three times.

After dropping her first set in Wuhan, Sabalenka did not lose another until the second set of today's match. In the end, Pegula defeated Sabalenka in three sets: 2-6, 6-4, 7-6(2).

Pegula almost let the match slip away when she double-faulted on the match point. Sabalenka broke back and sent the match into a third-set tiebreak. Pegula had struggled with closing out some matches in recent history, but held on tight for today's victory.

Coco Gauff Beats Jasmine Paolini

There might be a budding rivalry between Gauff and Paolini. Gauff beat Paolini in their first two matches, but Paolini won the last three meetings (all of which were this year).

However, Gauff evened their head-to-head record at three wins apiece by defeating Paolini in straight sets: 6-4, 6-3.

Once again, Gauff's serve issues were apparent. The American superstar tallied one ace and seven double faults. However, Gauff broke Paolini in 7/9 opportunities, while Paolini returned the favor in 5/6 chances.

"I'm really happy with how I played today," Gauff said in her post-match interview on center court.

"It was tough, especially playing on the serve, but I did what I needed to do to get through. Sabalenka and Pegula are great players, and I've lost to them both before. But overall, I'm just going to focus on my side of the court and try to control the things I can control."

Pegula and Gauff will face off in the Wuhan Open final tomorrow at 6:30 a.m. EST. Stay locked into Sports Illustrated's Serve On SI for all of your tennis news from the court and beyond.