Photo by Robert Prange/Getty Images

Jessica Pegula shares key lesson from win over Coco Gauff at WTA Finals

Originally posted on HITC | By Matthew Johns | Last updated Nov 3, 2025 10:33 AM ET

Jessica Pegula opened her WTA Finals campaign with a win over fellow American Coco Gauff, reversing the result from their last meeting.

Gauff had edged Pegula in the Wuhan Open final earlier this year, and the two met again in Riyadh, adding another chapter to their growing rivalry.

This time, Pegula came out on top. The world number five handled Gauff’s serve well and stayed composed throughout a three-set contest, eventually winning 6-3 6(4)-7 6-2.

Although much of the pre-match talk centred on Gauff’s serving, Pegula found herself most impressed by another part of her opponent’s game.

Jessica Pegula shares what worked for her against Coco Gauff

Speaking to Arab News after the match, Pegula discussed what she felt went well in her performance.

She highlighted her serving and also mentioned how she managed to avoid overplaying, something that Gauff often forces opponents into. Pegula also added that it’s a balance you need to strike against someone who moves as well as Gauff does.

Photo by Wanghe/Getty Images

“So I thought I was able to do that well and I thought I served really well, I think I was able to serve pretty consistent, even though I got broken in the second. But I still felt like I served really well the rest of the second set into the third. So that’s something I’ve been working on so it was nice to see that pay off.”

Pegula admitted playing Gauff can be tough, but she now holds a 5-3 advantage in their head-to-head record following this win.

Jessica Pegula explains the main difference between this year’s WTA Finals and last year

Pegula, who has reached the final of the WTA Finals in the past, didn’t have much success at the event in 2024.

After dropping her opening two matches, she pulled out of the tournament due to injury. Speaking about her return, Pegula admitted she already feels relieved to be performing better than last time.

#WATCH: @JPegula told @ArabNewsSport she “served really well” and found the right balance of being “aggressive but not overplaying” against @CocoGauff, adding it feels “great to carry this momentum” late in the season #WTAFinals @WTAFinalsRiyadh https://t.co/4zCO3rFK48 pic.twitter.com/Uxs26Hw03g
— Arab News | Sport (@ArabNewsSport) November 2, 2025

“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,” explained Pegula.

“I think I came off a really good Asian swing this year as well, so I wanted to kind of use that momentum and kind of come in and compete and play some good tennis and use the things that I learned since the US Open as well, so I thought I did a good job.”

Pegula will look to keep building on her positive start when she faces world number one Aryna Sabalenka on Tuesday 4 November. While Sabalenka leads their head-to-head 8-3, Pegula did win their most recent meeting at Wuhan.

This article first appeared on HITC and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: