Aryna Sabalenka came into the WTA finals with some high expectations. However, with the top 8 clashing with each other, the situation was not at all friendly for the World No. 1. Especially fighting for the semifinal berth, Sabalenka had to square off against Coco Gauff. 

Gauff made some early inroads and also led the game 3-5 in the first set. But it was then that Sabalenka’s champion instinct kicked in. She made a stellar turnaround to win the match 7-6(5), 6-2, while beating the defending champion and the World No. 3 to reach the semis.

Soon after the game was over, Sabalenka was asked how she managed to turn things around with Gauff leading 5-4 and serving 30-0. Laughing off her embarrassment, Sabalenka answered, “I would know, probably I wouldn’t put myself in that situation. I don’t know, I was just trying to stay aggressive, I guess. I was just trying to find my rhythm, find my game.”

The 27-year-old further added, “I was kind of like working for the second set already, but then magically I was able to turn things around. And yeah, super happy with the performance, super happy to get this win in straight sets. And yeah, just happy to be through the round robin.”

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Gauff has been someone who has caused constant problems for the Belarusian. The duo has already met twice this year. While Sabalenka prevailed in Madrid, the French Open finals were a shocker for the World No. 1. With a flurry of unforced errors, it was Gauff who got the better of the Belarusian at Roland Garros. But in their third meeting today, Sabalenka was determined not to repeat her mistakes again. But, once again, as the match progressed, the 27-year-old made things difficult for herself.

Surely, this was a massive boost for the World No. 1. Gauff was determined to win in straight sets to spoil Sabalenka’s party. With Jessica Pegula breezing past Jasmine Paolini, things became quite hard for the defending champion. She now needed to win in 2 sets to qualify for the semis. Otherwise, a 3-set win would make the equation come down to game percentage. And sadly, Gauff, with 51% was third next to Sabalenka (60%), and Pegula (58%). Meanwhile, this win would surely ease the nerves of the US Open champion. In her second round robin match, Sabalenka had a significant meltdown with her coach.

Aryna Sabalenka reflects on emotional clash with coach during WTA Finals

Last Tuesday, during the second round-robin match at the WTA Finals, Sabalenka got into a heated confrontation with her coach, Anton Dubrov. The conversation took such a turn that Dubrov left the court and walked out. While playing a heated match with Jessica Pegula, she failed to hold back her frustration and directed the same towards her coach. 

However, despite the heated episode, Sabalenka managed to keep calm and secured a 6-4, 2-6, 6-3 win against the American. Following the win, she immediately acknowledged how she failed to control her emotions and took it out on her coach. She stated, “Maybe I went a little bit too much on Anton, we’re going to probably — if he’s still here — we’re going to talk, but I don’t know where he is.”

Sabalenka secured her win against Jasmine Paolini and was thus aiming for a straight set win over Pegula to secure her seat in the semis. But right after Pegula won the second round, Sabalenka lashed out at her team. Her coach left the court while Sabalenka was playing the third set against Pegula. 

After the win, the Belarusian added, “But yeah, I went a bit too much. I was so frustrated inside of me and I was just trying to let it go, probably I went too far — not probably, I went too far.” While her coach walked out after Aryna had the sudden meltdown, she did not consider that to be the wrong step from her coach’s end. She rather justified the action of Dubrov and added, “Honestly, I think it was the right move from him to probably just let me be on my own.” Now, as Sabalenka proceeds further in the WTA Finals, defeating Gauff, fans would just wait to witness how the rest of the matches in Riyadh turn out for the reigning US Open champ.