Gauff beats Pegula as WTA Finals round-robin begins

Coco Gauff opened her WTA Finals round-robin campaign with a three-set victory over Jessica Pegula on November 8, while Linda Noskova defeated Marta Kostyuk in the other Group 1 match. Gauff won 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-2; Noskova’s score was 6-2, 6-4.

Gauff and Pegula traded momentum in a match that lasted more than two and a half hours. Gauff took the first set after saving three set points in the second, then Pegula recovered from a 5-2 deficit to win the tiebreak and force a decider. Gauff moved ahead in the third and closed out the match on her third match point, after Pegula sent a shot beyond the baseline.

The result gave Gauff her second WTA Finals win over Pegula. They had faced each other three times at the year-end tournament before Sunday, with Pegula winning two of those matches. Their latest meeting was their fourth at the WTA Finals and followed two Gauff victories over Pegula earlier in 2026, at Wimbledon and in the Cincinnati final.

Gauff said after the match that she had taken a break and entered the tournament without recent match preparation, which she described as a first in her career. She also praised Pegula’s play and said aggression was important to her approach....