Overview
- Gauff’s title defense ended in the round-robin after a 6-7(5), 2-6 loss to world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, a match she had to win in straight sets to reach the semifinals following Jessica Pegula’s victory over Jasmine Paolini.
- In Riyadh her double-fault totals swung sharply, with 17 against Pegula, three versus Paolini, and six in the deciding loss to Sabalenka.
- She split with coach Matt Daly before the US Open and brought in biomechanical expert Gavin MacMillan to rework her service motion during the season.
- Tim Henman highlighted Sabalenka’s experience and prior solutions to second-serve issues, noting that Gauff’s focus on the serve is spilling into other parts of her game.
- Jimmy Connors advised Gauff to stop making changes during competition and use the coming weeks to consolidate, while Gauff called the season mostly positive and plans to rest before resuming training.