Coco Gauff addressed Jessica Pegula after beating her in the final of the Wuhan Open.
Gauff had been questioned ahead of the Wuhan Open after she suffered a heavy defeat in Beijing to compatriot Amanda Anisimova.
However, the two-time Grand Slam champion was able to prove critics wrong, with Gauff beating Jasmine Paolini to reach the Wuhan Open final.
This set up an all-American clash with Pegula, who ended Aryna Sabalenka’s Wuhan streak in her semifinal.
Coco Gauff sends message to Jessica Pegula after Wuhan Open final
Gauff and Pegula are former doubles partners and have a lot of history together, but this was the first time they had ever played in a final.
After the Wuhan Open final concluded with Gauff beating Pegula, 6-4 7-5, she spoke about their relationship in the post-match ceremony.
In this speech, Gauff revealed that she was glad to have closed the match out in straight sets and also thanked Pegula for how she treated her when she first arrived on the WTA Tour.
“Congrats Jess on an incredible tournament,” said Gauff. “You have been playing a lot of three setters. You are the three set Queen, so I was determined not to let you get there today because I felt like the odds would be in your favour in the third set!
“When I came on Tour you were one of the first people to be nice to me and welcome me with open arms and that goes a long way and still goes a long way. I appreciate you and it’s great to finally play in a final against you. I hope for many more, so congratulations. It’s an honour to share the court with you.”
Coco Gauff makes history at the Wuhan Open after winning the title
Gauff has not dropped a single set at the Wuhan Open this year, beating Pegula, Paolini, Laura Siegemund, Zhang Shuai and Moyuka Uchijima all in straight sets.
As a result, the world number three has been able to make history at the Wuhan Open this year.
The recently retired Petra Kvitova previously held the record of the least games lost en route to winning the Wuhan Open title, but Gauff has now overtaken that in some style after only losing 25 games this week.
Gauff has now slightly eased the pressure on Anisimova chasing her down in the WTA rankings, with just one tournament to go for her in 2025.
That tournament is the WTA Finals, where Gauff is the defending champion and has 1300 points to defend in Riyadh.
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