Tennis News: Coco Gauff, Aryna Sabalenka and Rafael Nadal
- Coco Gauff had a maddening issue in Wuhan
- Aryna Sabalenka has a real chance
- Ticket prices for Rafael Nadal's final event
By Lee Vowell
Coco Gauff needs some help. She traded out coaches recently as Brad Gilbert's ability to get Gauff to play better appeared to have ceased. The American has been playing better recently, but her serve still is keeping her from being a top-three player.
Against Aryna Sabalenka in the Wuhan Open semifinals, Gauff had an incredibly bad 21 double faults. Twenty. One. Sabalenka is a great player who might have been able to beat Gauff on her own, but the American certainly gave the Belarusian a massive helping hand. Plus, double faults aren't a matter of lack of skill but an issue with concentration.
There is literally no excuse for that many double faults. Even if one has to spin a serve in that is better than helping your opponent defeat you. Gauff knows this but did nothing to try to adjust to how poorly she was serving. If that doesn't change in the future, she will never reach No. 1 on the WTA tour.
Coco Gauff's serve is a mess and Aryna Sabalenka has a chance
Speaking of Sabalenka, she will regain the top WTA ranking on October 21, but she will only lead No. 2 Iga Swiatek by a little over 100 points. That is because the WTA Finals points will fall off on October 21, and Swiatek won the tournament last year. As always, the tournament this year will be held on a hard court so keeping No. 1 is within Sabalenka's grasp.
But what are the chances she will do that? She might have to face Swiatek on her way to the title, and while Swiatek is the better player between the two on clay courts and on grass, the Pole smashed Sabalenka in last year's WTA Finals 6-3 6-2.
Sabalenka has the inside track to finish as year-end No. 1, but she has to show she is better on a hard court. That has not always been the case when Swiatek and Sabalenka have met. Swiatek just seems to want to win more. Let's see if that changes in Riyadh in early November.
Next. Coco Gauff and Matt Daly seem like a perfect match. Coco Gauff and Matt Daly seem like a perfect match. dark
Tickets for Rafael Nadal's final tournament are extremely expensive
In completely different news, Rafael Nadal announced his retirement recently, and he said his final event will be at the Davis Cup in late November. If you want to see the tournament in person, though, it will cost you a lot of money.
According to an article by Tennis Infinity, resale tickets for the Davis Cup are going for as much as $45,088. That is ridiculous. It also shows just how beloved Nadal is in the tennis world.
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