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Aryna Sabalenka vs. Jasmine Paolini

🤜 Head to Head: Sabalenka leads 5-2 (2-0 in 2025)

  • Sabalenka d. Paolini, 6-2, 6-2 – 2025 Miami semifinals
  • Sabalenka d. Paolini, 7-5, 6-4 – 2025 Stuttgart semifinals

The opening match in the Stefanie Graf Group sees Aryna Sabalenka begin her campaign to finish a year in which she held No. 1 from start to finish with a bang. The four-time major winner's opponent? Eighth seed Jasmine Paolini, who went down to Sabalenka in the group stage here a year ago.

Sabalenka is a previous runner-up, at 2022 Fort Worth. The 27-year-old has triumphed in half of the eight finals she’s contested this season, successfully defending her US Open crown to go with a pair of WTA 1000 trophies at Miami and Madrid.

Paolini celebrated her most memorable singles title to date when she topped Coco Gauff on home soil to clinch the 1000-level tournament in Rome. The 29-year-old went 8-3 during her Asian swing to qualify in both singles and doubles at the prestigious year-end event for a second straight season.

📲🖥️ Stream all the action from WTA Finals on the Tennis Channel App!

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2025 Tale of the Tape

(1) Aryna Sabalenka

  • Age: 27
  • Singles titles: 4 (US Open, Miami, Madrid, Brisbane)
  • W/L Singles: 59-11
  • Prize Money: $12,313,519

(8) Jasmine Paolini

  • Age: 29
  • Singles titles: 1 (Rome)
  • W/L Singles: 43-18
  • Prize Money: $4,806,977

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Coco Gauff vs. Jessica Pegula

🤜 Head to Head: Pegula leads 4-3 (0-1 in 2025)

  • Gauff d. Pegula, 6-4, 7-5 – 2025 Wuhan final

These former doubles partners didn’t cross paths on the court until their most recent tournament—and now face off in back-to-back matches.

Gauff, this year’s Roland Garros champion, kicks off her title defense seeking a third trip to the winner’s circle in 2025. The 21 year-old got the better of Pegula on this court during last year’s Riyadh run, and came out on top against the Buffalo, N.Y. native in their first singles final together at Wuhan three weeks ago.

For Pegula, she’s looking to channel her 2023 WTA Finals showing when she reached the championship match after stringing together four straight-set wins—including a semifinal with Gauff. The fifth seed, whose best major 2025 showing was a US Open semifinal, is seeking the biggest title of her career.

Read More: Tennis Channel analysts draft their WTA Finals fantasy teams

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Gauff is bidding to become the first player to retain the WTA Finals title since Serena Williams completed a three-peat in 2014.

Gauff is bidding to become the first player to retain the WTA Finals title since Serena Williams completed a three-peat in 2014.

2025 Tale of the Tape

(3) Coco Gauff

  • Age: 21
  • Singles titles: 2 (Roland Garros, Wuhan)
  • W/L Singles: 47-14
  • Prize Money: $7,274,845

(5) Jessica Pegula

  • Age: 31
  • Singles titles: 3 (Charleston, Bad Homburg, Austin)
  • W/L Singles: 43-18
  • Prize Money: $4,212,311

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📅 Order of Play: Sunday, Nov. 2

(3) G. Dabrowski / E. Routliffe vs. (5) M. Andreeva / D. Shnaider
— Start: 3:00 PM local (7:00 AM ET)

(1) Aryna Sabalenka vs. (8) Jasmine Paolini
— Not before: 5:00 PM local (9:00 AM ET)

(3) Coco Gauff vs. (5) Jasmine Paolini
— Not before: 6:30 PM local (10:30 AM ET)

(2) K. Siniakova / T. Townsend vs. (7) T. Babos / L. Stefani
— Estimated start: 7:40 PM local (11:40 AM ET)

👉 Tennis Channel Coverage (All times ET)

  • 7:00 a.m. — Doubles Round Robin
  • 11:00 a.m. (9:00 a.m. on App) — Singles (Sabalenka vs. Paolini, Gauff vs. Pegula) and Doubles Round Robin
  • 2:30 p.m. — TC Live
  • 3:00 p.m. — Encore

READ MORE: Where to watch the WTA and ATP Finals, and daily schedules from Riyadh and Turin