Jasmine defeated 6-3, 6-2 in Riyadh. The day after tomorrow she will face Pegula in the singles, tomorrow in doubles with Errani

Second match and second defeat for Jasmine Paolini, who exits the WTA Finals in Riyadh. The Italian, ranked 8th in the world, was beaten 6-3, 6-2 by the American Coco Gauff, ranked 3rd in the WTA rankings, in one hour and 20 minutes. After losing 6-3, 6-1 to Sabalenka, Paolini lost her second match in a row in two sets and therefore has no chance, even mathematically, of advancing to the next round. It’s a real shame for Jasmine, who had the misfortune of participating in these Finals, an event she had been looking forward to, clearly weakened by a flu that greatly affected her performance, both in singles and doubles, where she is still in the running for qualification alongside Errani.

Against Gauff, Paolini started with a break down, and as with Sabalenka, she managed to come back to 4-3, attempting to turn the set around, but the American was good at repelling the attack. It was her last chance, given Jasmine’s physical condition. In the second set, the 29-year-old Tuscan played aggressive and proactive tennis, staying in the match until 2-2, before collapsing and conceding four games in a row. Paolini’s last singles match will be at the Riyadh Finals against Pegula on Thursday. Tomorrow, with Errani, she will face Elise Mertens and Veronika Kudermetova in the final match of the group named after Martina Navratilova, which will be decisive in their bid to reach the semifinals after their defeat in the first match against Hsieh Su-wei and Jelena Ostapenko.