Jessica Pegula has started her WTA Finals campaign in style with a solid win over defending champion Coco Gauff.
In a group that also features Aryna Sabalenka, it was imperative that both players tried to get off to a good start, but it’s been Pegula who has prevailed.
Pegula made an interesting claim about Gauff after the match, with the world number three making a staggering 17 double faults during the first match of her title defence.
Pegula has claimed this week that the WTA Tour isn’t easy to negotiate on a weekly basis, but right now she does seem to be playing some great tennis.
Pegula came through in three sets and, in doing so, she became only the second woman on the WTA Tour to do something very special during 2025.
What Jessica Pegula has now achieved after beating Coco Gauff
Pegula now leads the head-to-head with her compatriot five matches to three, and she’s also completed a special feat with this win over Gauff, too.
Pegula is now the second player, after Amanda Anisimova, to have claimed at least one win over the top three players in the world this year.
Pegula has completed the set after also beating Sabalenka in the Wuhan Open semifinal and Iga Swiatek at the Hamburg Open earlier this year.
She is the only player, along with Anisimova, to have at least one win during the calendar year against the top three players and quite clearly, Pegula is a player who simply loves to raise her game for those matches.
Pegula emulates Karolina Pliskova
Pegula has caused quite a stir by beating Gauff and perhaps the defending champion is now facing an early exit from the competition she won last year.
Pegula has become the first player to defeat the defending champion in the first match of the round robin stage since 2018, when Pliskova defeated Caroline Wozniacki.
Pliskova would make the semifinal that year before losing out to Sloane Stephens, who was defeated by Elina Svitolina in the final.
Now, Pegula will have her sights firmly set on reaching the semifinal of the event and given her record against the game’s top players, she might even fancy lifting the trophy next week.
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