Coco Gauff’s winning run has finally ended. After some impressive performances of late, the American sensation couldn’t get past her rival, Aryna Sabalenka in the semifinal of the Wuhan Open. Gauff started the match well but lost steam as she succumbed to defeat in three sets 1-6, 6-4, 6-4. The 20-year-old has been playing continuously and was on a 9-match winning run in the Asian Swing of the WTA Tour. However, with a major part of this leg done and dusted, Gauff will look to take a breather now.

Interestingly, this was the first time that Gauff played in Wuhan. She hadn’t been there before, as a result, the interviewer, during the post-match press conference, asked Gauff if she would stay in the city for a few days and take a tour. But the American sensation declined and revealed that she was heading straight back home to Delray Beach to press the reset button.

Gauff said, “No. I think I’m going to go home just because it’s been long. I think I’ve been here, like, four weeks. Two weeks is kind of when we have to leave for Riyadh. Yeah, maybe next year. I want to do well in Beijing. Hopefully I don’t have time. But maybe next year I’ll have more time. Honestly, after matches, I walked around the city for 30 minutes. It’s a very nice, modern city, which I wasn’t expecting. I didn’t really do any research on Wuhan, honestly. I enjoyed it. The site is really top tier. They do a lot to make the players accommodated here. I really appreciate that. Maybe next year. Honestly, I’m ready to sleep in my own bed.”

Gauff will next feature in the WTA Finals in Riyadh, as she has already qualified for the year-ending tournament. It commences on November 2 and the American sensation will look to rejuvenate and take some time off ahead of the year-ending championships. Last year, Gauff reached the semifinals in Riyadh and will hope to lift the title this time around.

Talking about her match with Sabalenka, it was the same old problem for Gauff. Her serving woes continued and even Aryna Sabalenka sympathized with her after the match.

Aryna Sabalenka on Coco Gauff: ‘I feel you’

During the loss against Sabalenka, Gauff hit as many as 21 double faults and made just over 50% of first serves during the three-set encounter. It has become her biggest weakness, something which even Sabalenka acknowledged after prevailing over Gauff. The Belarusian star felt bad about Gauff’s woeful day in serving and stood by her.

She said, “I was playing that match thinking, like, ‘Well, girl, I feel you. I know what she’s going through. This is really difficult. This is really tough. But I know that if she’ll be able to overcome this serve situation, she already one of the best players, but I’m pretty sure she’s going to be one of the greatest players.”

Interestingly, even Sabalenka went through the same problem a couple of years back and even resorted to underarm serving. However, with the help of biomechanics coach Gavin MacMillan, she overcame the problem and is one of the better servers on the WTA Tour now. With her win over Gauff, Sabalenka progresses to the final where she will face Olympic champion, Qinwen Zheng. Can Sabalenka lift the title in Wuhan? Let us know your views in the comments below.