Coco Gauff’s mother, Candi Gauff, recently reacted to her daughter defeating and, in turn, exacting revenge against Jasmine Paolini to reach the final of the 2025 Wuhan Open. This match was the sixth encounter between the two players, with Gauff leveling their head-to-head record to three wins each.
Before their meeting at the WTA 1000 hard court tournament in Wuhan, Gauff and Paolini had faced each other three times earlier this year, with Paolini winning all three encounters.
How Did Coco Gauff’s Mother, Candi, React to Her Defeating Jasmine Paolini at the Wuhan Open?
Gauff is seeded third at the 2025 Wuhan Open, and she began her campaign in the second round after receiving a first-round bye. She opened her tournament with a dominant win over qualifier Moyuka Uchijima, defeating her 6-1, 6-0. In the third round, she triumphed over wild card Zhang Shuai with a score of 6-3, 6-2.
In the quarterfinals, the two-time Grand Slam champion eliminated Laura Siegemund with a commanding scoreline of 6-3, 6-0. She secured her place in the final by defeating the seventh-seeded Paolini 6-4, 6-3 in just one hour and 22 minutes. This victory marked Gauff’s first win over the Italian in their four encounters on the WTA Tour this year.
Following her win, Gauff’s mother, Candi, took to social media to celebrate her daughter reaching the final of the Wuhan Open for the first time. She expressed that watching Gauff’s victory was “pure joy.”
“@cocogauff pure joy! ❤️❤️,” Candi captioned her Instagram story.
In the lead-up to the Wuhan Open, Gauff competed at the 2025 China Open, where she was the defending champion. She reached the semifinals and lost to compatriot and eventual champion Amanda Anisimova.
Who Will Gauff Face at the 2025 Wuhan Open Final?
Following her victory over Paolini in the semifinals of the 2025 Wuhan Open, Gauff is set to face her fellow American, Jessica Pegula, in the final of the tournament.
Pegula, seeded sixth at the WTA 1000 hard court tournament in Wuhan, began her campaign in the second round after receiving a first-round bye. She defeated her compatriot Hailey Baptiste with a score of 6-4, 4-6, 7-6(6), and then overcame ninth seed Ekaterina Alexandrova 7-5, 3-6, 6-3 in the second and third rounds, respectively.
In the quarterfinals, Pegula eliminated qualifier Kateřina Siniaková with a scoreline of 2-6, 6-0, 6-3. She secured her place in the final against Gauff by defeating the top seed and three-time defending champion Aryna Sabalenka 2-6, 6-4, 7-6(2) in the semifinals.
Gauff and Pegula have faced each other six times on the WTA Tour, with the latter winning four of those matches. Their most recent encounter was during the round-robin stage of the 2024 WTA Finals, which Gauff won 6-3, 6-2. She then went on to defeat Zheng Qinwen in the final to win the title, claiming her tenth career WTA Tour singles title.