Aryna Sabalenka took to the court in Riyadh on November 6 to face Coco Gauff, determined to avenge her earlier French Open loss to the American. In a thrilling 7-6 (7-5), 6-2 victory, Sabalenka secured a spot in the semifinals of the WTA Finals, setting up a rematch of this year’s US Open Final against Amanda Anisimova. Amid this intense battle, tennis legend Chris Evert shared her unfiltered thoughts on the match.

The evening began with tough challenges for the Americans. After Jessica Pegula’s win over Jasmine Paolini, Gauff faced a do-or-die scenario—she had to defeat Sabalenka in straight sets to reach the semifinals. However, Sabalenka left no room for error, dominating the court and ending Gauff’s run at the tournament. With Sabalenka securing the victory, the reigning WTA Finals champion bid farewell to Riyadh.

Not only was the match fiercely competitive, but the fiery rivalry between the two players also left the American tennis icon Chris Evert thoroughly impressed. Taking to her X account, Evert wrote, “Watched the @SabalenkaA @CocoGauff match yesterday…really enjoyed it, high level, great shotmaking and defense from both …” She added, “women’s tennis just keeps getting better! #admiration #WTAFinals.”

Despite Gauff’s loss, Evert’s faith in the future of women’s tennis was strengthened by the high-quality play. The match featured dramatic momentum shifts, with Gauff initially leading in the first set. Sabalenka’s frustration showed when she dropped her racquet, but she quickly regained control, leading 4-2 and closing out with a series of masterful serves to claim the win.

After the match, Sabalenka reflected, “I was thinking, `OK, there is nothing to lose,’ and I was going big on my serves. It really helped me find my rhythm. After that game, I was serving much better. Yeah, that was a great decision to go big and try to find the rhythm.” She continued, “I was already working for the second set, to be honest. Something clicked and I was able to break, and that game gave me a lot of confidence that I still got it in this set. And yeah, super happy to get this win.”

While Sabalenka has been securing back-to-back wins in Riyadh, an unexpected behaviour from the star made her coach walk out of the court.

Aryna Sabalenka’s outburst made her coach leave the court during the WTA Finals

At the second round-robin match at the WTA Finals against Pegula, Sabalenka lost her cool. It turned out to be a heated match, and Sabalenka, failing to hold back her frustration, vented out at her corner. Following that cameras even caught her having a heated verbal confrontation with her coach, Anton Dubrov.

Right after the conversation, Dubrov was seen walking out while Sabalenka was playing the third set against Pegula. Although the Belarusian lost her calm and took her frustration out on her coach, she made sure to make her mentor proud by grabbing the win against the American after a 6-4, 2-6, 6-3 run.

Following the victory, Sabalenka acknowledged that she reacted harshly and said, “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.” The WTA Finals semi-finalist further 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.”

Now, after securing two back-to-back wins against Pegula and Gauff, Sabalenka is gearing up to face another American phenom in the semi-final battle of Riyadh WTA Finals. While Sabalenka has already defeated Amanda Anisimova in the US Open Final this year, it is for time to tell whether the no. #1 ranked woman in the sport will again make the #4 ranked star face a defeat and make it to the finals.