Coco Gauff took on her former doubles partner, Jessica Pegula, in her first match at the 2024 WTA Finals in Riyadh, and she won that match easily.
The United States of America is the only country that is represented by two players at the WTA year-end championships. Both Gauff and Pegula were among the eight highest-ranked players in the WTA Race, and so was their compatriot, Emma Navarro.
Unfortunately for Navarro, a special rule was used this year, which meant that Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova, who was 12th in the race, qualified for the tournament thanks to winning a major this year.
Without Navarro in the draw, the two former doubles partners are the two Americans in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, trying to win the last trophy up for grabs on the WTA Tour, the WTA Finals.
The two met five times before, and previously, Pegula was the better player, winning four of those matches. But their meeting in Riyadh was different, and it was Gauff who made it different.
Although she faced a break point already in the first game of the match, she worked her way to a break point a few games later. The 20-year-old player converted it to grab a 3-1 lead.
She was then broken back immediately but once again broke Pegula’s serve to lead 4-2. Gauff is a player who breaks opponents’ serve the most out of anyone on the WTA Tour, and it showed in this match.
After breaking for the second time in the first set, the 2023 US Open champion held her serve for the remainder of the set to win it 6-3 and establish a one-set advantage.
That is especially important at the WTA Finals, as every set and game won counts towards the round-robin stage standings. If two players are tied on points after the round-robin stage, one of the players might advance purely thanks to games won.
After winning the first set, Gauff started the second set better as well. She came out firing, breaking Pegula’s serve in the first game. She held her serve after breaking, leading already 2-0.
Pegula then had an inspired period, holding her serve and subsequently breaking Gauff’s serve despite the younger American leading 40-0 in that game. Pegula made it 2-2, and it seemed like it was game on.
Instead, it was closer to a game over, as Gauff started a streak of four consecutive games won, leaving her opponent without a chance to respond.
Gauff won the match 6-3, 6-2, showing that she brought the confidence from China with her. She recorded her first round-robin win at the 2024 WTA Finals, and one more victory might be all that she might need to make it to the semi-finals.
Her next two opponents will be her nemesis, Iga Swiatek, and Barbora Krejcikova, who met in the other round-robin match on Sunday in Riyadh.
