What Aryna Sabalenka's coaching team were seen doing against Coco Gauff after being screamed at recently

Aryna Sabalenka booked her place in the WTA Finals semifinals with an entertaining straight-sets win.

The Belarusian was made to work hard in the first set, but eventually got the better of Coco Gauff, 7-6 (7-5), to move within touching distance of the last four.

Pushing on in the second, Sabalenka defeated Gauff 7-6, 6-2, to set up a semifinal clash with another American, Amanda Anisimova.

There was a lot of talk pre-match about the world number one’s demeanour on court, after Sabalenka screamed at her team during her win over Jessica Pegula, prompting coach Anton Dubrov to head for the exit.

Keeping a close eye on Sabalenka’s box throughout the match, Sky Sports pundit Tim Henman revealed how they acted during her win over Gauff.

Tim Henman says Aryna Sabalenka’s coaching team looked ‘unbelievably tense’

Henman sensed a lot of tension between Sabalenka and her team during her final group stage match.

“In the important moments, when I was courtside and looking across at her player box, they looked unbelievably tense,” he said.

“They weren’t really contributing a great deal, because [Aryna] Sabalenka was looking pretty volatile.”

Things might not be 100% ok in the Sabalenka camp right now, but that didn’t stop her from delivering another impressive performance.

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“The quality of tennis was absolutely phenomenal,” said Henman.

“The ball striking, the speed, was absolutely relentless. Sign of such a great champion that when push came to shove in the most important moments, it was Sabalenka who was able to come up with the goods.

“[Coco] Gauff, her level went up again, the consistency of her serving was much, much better, certainly in the first set, but in the critical moments, Sabalenka just had the confidence to keep going for her shots and deliver the winners.”

Henman was particularly impressed by the way Sabalenka dealt with adversity throughout the match.

“She was down a break from the word go; it was Gauff that came out and was the more composed. Sabalenka looked a little bit frustrated, and that was just the first game of the match,” he said.

“Inevitably, with Gauff’s speed around the court, you’re just going to have to keep going for your shots, and there were a few more unforced errors.

“It did look like Sabalenka was frustrated, but you just can’t write her off, even when Gauff was serving for the set at 5-4, she had 30-0, and there was still no panic from Sabalenka, then she turned it around to win eight points in a row.

“That was such an important moment, and it’s that power from the baseline that separates her from the rest of the players.”

The former world number four proceeded to comment on Sabalenka’s decision to play a lighter schedule in the lead-up to the tour finals.

“I think that’s a sign of maturity and the decision-making of her team to say this event is the priority,” said Henman.

“We’ve got the world number one sewn up, but this is an event she’s never won, so to have some weeks off to make sure she’s very fresh mentally and physically, as others have struggled so much, I think, is very smart.

“Now, she’s won three matches, she’s got a fourth coming up, you want to be full of energy, if you’re coming in struggling with those levels, once you’ve played three tough matches, for sure, you’re going to be up against it, but I don’t think that’s the case with Sabalenka.”

She’ll need to be at her best in her next match, as she takes on Anisimova for the fourth time this year.

Aryna Sabalenka vs Amanda Anisimova – The story so far

It was Sabalenka who won the first meeting between the pair in 2025, defeating Anisimova in the fourth round of the French Open without too much trouble.

Their second clash was far more entertaining, however, and may well go down as one of the matches of the year.

In three sets, Anisimova defeated Sabalenka, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4, to qualify for her first-career Grand Slam final at Wimbledon.

Playing their third Grand Slam match of the year, Sabalenka got revenge on Anisimova in New York, defending her US Open title with a 6-3, 7-6 win.

Now set to face off for a fourth time in 2025, Sabalenka will be determined to extend her winning record over Anisimova to 3-1.

Only time will tell who will emerge victorious when Sabalenka and Anisimova battle it out for a place in the final on Friday, November 7.

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