Jessica Pegula Breaks Down Coco Gauff’s Secret After Winning Their Opening Clash at the WTA Finals

Jessica Pegula couldn’t have asked for a better start at the WTA Finals in Riyadh after defeating fellow compatriot Coco Gauff in the opening match of the robin-round stage. The World No.6 produced a brilliant game, taking advantage of Gauff’s serving troubles and winning the defending champion in three sets.

Pegula faced Gauff in the final of the Wuhan Open and fell to the World No.3 in straight sets. In their encounter on Sunday (November 1), the 2024 US Open finalist delivered an excellent performance in the first set, whilst Gauff suffered an inconsistency in her second serve as she committed 17 double faults.

Gauff had hired a new biomechanics expert, Gavin MacMillan, to help her deal with her serving issues, but in her clash against Pegula, there seems to be no atom of improvement. The 21-year-old hit 58 unforced errors after fighting hard to win the second set in a tiebreak. It was Pegula who dominated the match.

Pegula won 70% of her first serve points and broke Gauff nine times. She served five aces, and most of her success came primarily from her composure and clean shot selection. While Gauff maintained her aggressive style of play, hitting risky serves under pressure, her opponent capitalized on them.

The former World No.4 edged past Gauff 6-3, 6(4)-7, 6-2. After the match, Pegula was asked during her interview with Tennis Channel about Gauff’s secret style of play. The 31-year-old revealed that Gauff’s entire game plan was only based on disrupting her opponent as she’s constantly hitting fast and aggressively:

Coco’s entire game is about disrupting you—she’s so fast and makes you play so many balls. Even in the second set, I felt I had chances. She served really well at times, got free points, but I just wanted to stay focused in the third. I knew what I had to do, and it was about keeping that balance between being aggressive and not overplaying.

Pegula now joins Aryna Sabalenka at the top of the Steffi Graf Group at the WTA Finals. Sabalenka had won her opening match against Jasmine Paolini in straight sets and sits above Pegula in just game differential. Both players will meet in the second round robin tie to determine who will qualify for the semi-finals.

Jessica Pegula reveals why she’s playing better at this year’s WTA Finals than last year

Jessica Pegula is a former finalist at the WTA Finals, earning her best run at the tournament in 2023. However, last year, she struggled at the tournament, losing her opening two matches before withdrawing due to injury. This season, she has started on a high note, beating defending champion Coco Gauff in three sets.

The win over Pegula’s fellow compatriot, already means that she’s doing better than last year. During the aforementioned interview, she revealed that the difference between her performance this year and last season was because she was a little bit injured:

It feels awesome, already a lot better than the way my Finals here last year went, so I think that’s a little bit of relief and you can kind of, you know when it didn’t end well last year I was a little injured and coming in this year I had a little bit of a different perspective. I think I came off a really good Asian swing this year as well, so I wanted to kind of use that momentum.

Pegula’s next challenge will be Aryna Sabalenka on Tuesday (November 4). Sabalenka currently leads the American star 8-3 in their head-to-head record. Pegula won their last encounter at the Wuhan Open, but at the WTA Finals, their head-to-head record stands 1-1, with Sabalenka winning in 2022, while the 31-year-old claimed the victory in 2023.

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