Gauff opens WTA Finals with gritty win over Pegula
Coco Gauff defeated Jessica Pegula 6-4, 6-7 (5/7), 6-2 in her opening match at the WTA Finals in Indian Wells.
Coco Gauff battled past compatriot Jessica Pegula in a three-set thriller to begin her 2026 WTA Finals campaign at Indian Wells. The 2024 champion won 6-4, 6-7 (5/7), 6-2 and will next face Linda Noskova.
Key takeaways
- Gauff beat Pegula 6-4, 6-7 (5/7), 6-2 in the WTA Finals opener
- The match lasted two hours and 39 minutes
- Gauff is the youngest player at five straight WTA Finals since Hingis in 2000
- Gauff will face Wimbledon champion Linda Noskova next
- Pegula will play Marta Kostyuk in her second group match
Coco Gauff defeated fellow American Jessica Pegula 6-4, 6-7 (5/7), 6-2 in her opening WTA Finals match at Indian Wells on Sunday, BBC Sport reported.
The victory gave the 2024 champion a winning start to the season-ending championship, which features the top eight singles players of the season in two groups of four.
Gauff, at 22, became the youngest player to appear at five consecutive WTA Finals since Martina Hingis in 2000, BBC Sport reported. The top two from each group progress to the semi-finals before the final on Sunday.
Gauff recovered from three break points down to hold for a 5-4 lead in the first set before breaking Pegula in the following game, BBC Sport reported. Pegula raced into a 5-1 lead in the second set, but Gauff won the next three games.
Pegula saved a match point at 5-6 and won the tie-break. Gauff then dominated the decider, breaking to lead 3-0 before converting a third match point after two hours and 39 minutes, Sky Sports reported.
Gauff has won only one title this year, when she beat Pegula in the Cincinnati Open final in August, BBC Sport reported. Pegula, 32, won titles in Dubai and Charleston and reached the semi-finals of the Australian Open and US Open, BBC Sport reported.
She is only four wins behind Elena Rybakina’s tour-leading 54 this season despite playing only one match since the US Open ended in September, BBC Sport reported. Gauff last competed at the China Open in early October, BBC Sport reported.
To play a tournament like this with no preparation is something I’ve never done in my career, Gauff said. Honestly, I was having a lot of fun today, Gauff said. I took a little break, it was my first match in a month, Gauff said.
Today the key was just trying to be aggressive, but I also had to run a lot, Gauff said. My shoes are pretty torn up now. Some of my shoes are somewhere on the court there, so I’ll have to change shoes tomorrow, Gauff said.
Gauff will face Wimbledon champion Linda Noskova, who beat Marta Kostyuk 6-2, 6-4 in the opening match of the Finals, BBC Sport reported. Pegula will take on Kostyuk. Noskova is a Czech 21-year-old making her debut, Sky Sports reported.
Noskova won all four of her break points against Ukrainian Kostyuk, BBC Sport reported. Kostyuk is standing in for No 1 seed Elena Rybakina after the Kazakh withdrew a day before the tournament citing a medical issue, Sky Sports reported.
Opening round-robin results at the WTA Finals
Match | Score |
|---|---|
Coco Gauff v Jessica Pegula | 6-4, 6-7 (5/7), 6-2 |
Linda Noskova v Marta Kostyuk | 6-2, 6-4 |
Key figures from the match
Figure | Detail |
|---|---|
Gauff's age | 22 |
Consecutive WTA Finals appearances | 5 |
Match duration | 2 hours 39 minutes |
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