Coco Gauff is a WTA Tour champion once more after beating Jessica Pegula in the final of the Wuhan Open.
Gauff was the third seed at the WTA 1000 event in China, where she lifted the trophy after beating fellow American Pegula 6-4, 7-5.
The world number three now has two titles for the season after winning the French Open, and 11 for her superb career so far.
Gauff was playing in just her second event since the US Open, where the 2023 champion suffered a disappointing round of 16 exit.
She bounced back by reaching the semifinals of the China Open, but has now gone one step further with the Wuhan Open title.
Coco Gauff’s success at the Wuhan Open is even more remarkable given what happened to her last week
But Gauff’s latest success is even more remarkable considering what happened to her just last weekend in Beijing.
She was eager to land another WTA final place, but her fellow American Amanda Anisimova had other ideas.
The 2025 Wimbledon and US Open runner-up thrashed the French Open champion 6-1, 6-2 in a ruthless display against her compatriot.
READ MORE: Jessica Pegula shares what she wants to say to Coco Gauff after losing the Wuhan Open final to her
But rather than let that heavy loss get her down, Gauff proved her fantastic mental strength by ensuring the same situation was not repeated against Pegula, or any of her Wuhan Open opponents for that matter.
Moreover, Gauff still has serving issues, but at the same time she has managed to emerge victorious despite the problems.
She hit a huge eight double faults against Pegula, with Gauff undoubtedly set for major and consistent success should she iron out the problem in the near future.
Finally, and hugely importantly, the two-time major champion is still proving herself against top players, consistently beating them
Pegula and Jasmine Paolini were among her victims in Wuhan, with the WTA top 10 well aware of just how dangerous the world number three can really be on her day.
Coco Gauff vs Jessica Pegula Wuhan Open serving stats
Gauff’s service has long been highlighted as an area for improvement, with the player herself clearly aware of the issue.
She recently appointed biomechanics expert Gavin MacMillan to help, and while Gauff’s serving has improved, there is still a long way to go.
| Jessica Pegula | Coco Gauff | |
| 0 | Aces | 4 |
| 2 | Double faults | 8 |
| 50% (34/68) | 1st serve | 74% (54/73) |
| 64.7% (22/34) | 1st serve points won | 63% (34/54) |
| 32.4% (11/34) | 2nd serve points won | 36.8% (7/19) |
| 8 | Break points faced | 9 |
| 25% (2/8) | Break points saved | 55.6% (5/9) |
| 11 | Service games played | 11 |
But it really is a positive sign that she can struggle while serving but still win, and still win against top players in events as major as a WTA 1000.
She will, however, likely need to continue the hard work behind the scenes if further success is to go her way at the WTA Finals, where the likes of Pegula, Anisimova, Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek are set to pose a real challenge.
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