Coco Gauff's Issues Return Against Jessica Pegula in WTA Finals

"Coco's a great champion, great competitor, good friend, so it's always tough playing her," Pegula said during her post-match interview. "It's always tough playing her. She was the last person I actually played in China, so we know each others' games pretty well. I don't think there's any secrets with this group of girls, so I just tried my best today to execute where I could."

Pegula explained what happened late in the match. "In the first set, I played well, and she wasn't serving great. But in the second, she started serving really well and started going for her serve. I know with someone like her, who's such a great competitor, she was going to switch up the game plan a little, and she did that in the second. I still had some chances to get the break back, get broken, and then the tiebreaker."

Pegula added, "There were a lot of highs and lows, but I'm accustomed to those at this time of year. I've played a lot of three-set matches with a lot of highs and lows, so I just tried not to think about the time, the mistakes I've had, or the chances I've had, and just focus on my strategy. I thought I was very disciplined there in the third set."

Despite losing in disappointing fashion, Gauff is not yet eliminated. She needs two wins and some help from other results to advance out of group play and into the semifinals. Gauff will face Jasmine Paolini, who lost to Aryna Sabalenka earlier today. Meanwhile, Pegula will face the top-ranked Sabalenka.

Tomorrow, the "Serena Williams Group" will return to action with Iga Swiatek facing Elena Rybakina, and Amanda Anisimova taking on Madison Keys.

The 2025 WTA Finals runs through November 8.