French Open Champion Gauff didn’t do too much wrong in the opening set but Sabalenka was more of the breaks, winning 22 of the 24 Breakers she played this year.
Gauff’s serve, which is problematic at the moment, improved in the first set – with 72% of the winning service points and 70% of the winning points on his second serve.
However, she failed to serve for the opener at 5-4 before her first double fault of the match gave Sabalenka four-time points in the tie-break.
On the other side of the net, Sabalenka showed a full range of emotions as she twice fought back from a break down; Frustration after missing so many points, despair after sending a backhand volley wide during the tie-break and then celebration as he grabbed a powerful forehand winner to clinch it.
Sabalenka quickly moved to 4-0 until the second and, despite giving a short return in one of his two service breaks, he served to win the first wta finals title.
Sabalenka is in the semi-finals for the fourth year in a row but has only reached the final once, losing to Caroline Garcia in 2022.