Defending champion Coco Gauff will face eighth-ranked Jasmine Paolini in her second-round robin stage match of the 2025 WTA Finals on Tuesday, Nov. 4. In her first match of this year’s elite tournament in Riyadh on Sunday, Gauff turned in a howler of a performance on serve. The World No. 3 hit 17 double faults to lose 3-6, 7-6(4), 2-6 to fellow American Jessica Pegula in two hours and 15 minutes.
Paolini, meanwhile, won only 50% (29/58) of her first and second-serve points and was broken five times by World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in a 3-6, 1-6 loss in her tournament opener. Having been routed in a measly one hour and eleven minutes, the Italian will be eager to improve her 25% (1/4) win/loss record against the elite eight in Riyadh.
Coco Gauff vs Jasmine Paolini Match Details
Date: Nov. 4, 2025
Tournament: WTA Finals 2025
Round: Round-robin
Venue: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Category: WTA Finals
Surface: Indoor Hardcourt
Live Telecast: Tennis Channel, TSN, Sky Sports
Gauff vs Paolini Head-to-Head
Coco Gauff and Jasmine Paolini have split their six career meetings on the WTA Tour, which brings their head-to-head record to 3-3. Although the 29-year-old has come out on top of three of their last four hardcourt clashes, her younger opponent won their last match 6-4, 6-4 en route to securing the Wuhan Open title last month.
Gauff vs Paolini Prediction
While Coco Gauff’s serve was certainly subpar in her first round-robin match of the 2025 WTA Finals, her groundstrokes weren’t any less concerning as she hit 75 unforced errors across three sets.
The 2024 titlist also seemingly struggled for consistency in the second half of the match, dropping five of her last six games. For what it’s worth, she will probably connect with the ball better now that she is more used to the medium-paced hardcourts at the King Saud Arena.
Compared to Gauff, Jasmine Paolini’s winners-to-unforced errors ratio was somewhat respectable. However, at 5’4, she couldn’t impart much pace on her shots from either wing, enabling Aryna Sabalenka to feast on her from the baseline. The former Wimbledon runner-up will be wary of making the same mistake against a shotmaker like Gauff, who has arguably the highest tennis IQ on the WTA Tour.
Both players will have to win a respectable percentage of their first-serve points on Tuesday if they want to put together a good showing in Riyadh. Gauff is capable of hitting aces when her opponents least expect it, though.
This, in turn, will put more pressure on Paolini to stay sharp on return and unload on any shots that fall within her strike zone. The World No. 3 should expect long rallies during the contest, and her performance on crucial points might end up dictating the result in the end.
Prediction: Coco Gauff to win in three sets.