Coco Gauff, who had lost all three of her previous meetings with Jasmine Paolini this season, finally flipped the script in Wuhan. The American third seed powered into her first Wuhan Open final with a hard-fought 6-4, 6-3 win on Saturday. But the numbers only tell part of the story. According to Opta Ace, the French Open champion has dropped just 16 games en route to the final, the fewest since the tournament’s debut in 2014. And history continues to follow her stride: at just 21 years and 207 days old, Gauff becomes the youngest player ever to reach the finals of both the China Open and the Wuhan Open.

Both top-10 stars struggled to find rhythm on serve, but Coco Gauff found a way, winning the battle of converted breaks seven-to-five. Down three breaks in the second set, the World No. 3 refused to fold, reeling off the final four games to seal the match and book her spot in the final against Jessica Pegula. And now, as Gauff inches closer to another title, her proud mom has shared a simple two-word message that says it all.

Just a few hours ago, Candi Odom Gauff took to her Instagram story to share her daughter’s latest triumph. Reposting Coco Gauff’s photo, she added two simple words that spoke volumes. “Pure Joy,” she wrote. And who could blame her? The American third seed battled through a whirlwind of nerves and resilience, snatching the opening set after both players traded holds for five games before an unbelievable streak of five straight breaks. It was a tug of war, but through it all, Coco Gauff’s determination burned brighter with every rally.

The second set brought the same electric chaos. Jasmine Paolini struck first, breaking for a 3-2 lead, but Gauff answered right back in what became the 11th consecutive game without a service hold. “I’m really happy with how I played today. It was tough, especially playing on the serve. But I did what I needed to do to get through,” Coco Gauff said after the match.

Right now, Coco Gauff and Aryna Sabalenka are the top seeds standing tall in Wuhan, after Iga Swiatek’s impressive run ended against Paolini in the quarterfinals on Friday. But tennis fans also noticed a fun stat shared by Tennis Bakery on X. The account pointed out that each of these powerhouses has baked up more than 20 sets of 6-0 or 6-1 wins in the past three seasons. And with her latest form, Coco Gauff just joined that elite club.

Coco Gauff joins Sabalenka and Swiatek in elite WTA club

Earlier this year, things weren’t exactly smooth sailing for Coco Gauff. After her French Open triumph, the momentum slipped away, and finding her rhythm became a real challenge. A string of early exits followed (including that gut-wrenching first-round loss at Wimbledon) which shook her confidence and forced her to rework parts of her team. But now, the American star has rediscovered her spark, and the fire’s back in full force.

According to the 2025 WTA Bakery Report, Gauff served up 17 “baked” sets in 2024 (four 6-0s and thirteen 6-1s). That brings her career tally to around 107 baked sets, including 33 bagels and 74 breadsticks. It’s an impressive résumé for someone who’s still only 21. But how do her numbers stack up against her biggest rivals?

Well, no one runs the bakery game quite like Iga Swiatek. The World No. 2 remains the undisputed queen of bagels and breadsticks, with a mind-blowing 214 sets baked to date (91 bagels and 123 breadsticks!) Her most iconic masterpiece? That unforgettable 6-0, 6-0 thrashing of Amanda Anisimova at Wimbledon, done and dusted in just 57 minutes.

Aryna Sabalenka, meanwhile, is running her own fiery kitchen just across the street. Her brand of tennis is all about power and punishment, and the scoreboard shows it. In the 2025 Indian Wells semifinals, she steamrolled Madison Keys 6-0, 6-1. Her 2024 season told a similar story, a 6-3, 6-0 win over Lucia Bronzetti in Brisbane, followed by 6-1, 6-0 against Zhu Lin and 6-0, 6-1 versus Ella Seidel at the Australian Open. And the pièce de résistance? A double bagel over Lesia Tsurenko in round three.

That sad, do you think Coco Gauff’s resurgence this season proves she’s ready to dominate the WTA Tour alongside Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek?