Jessica Pegula previews her opening WTA Finals match against Coco Gauff.
The pair know each very well having played against one another and won doubles titles alongside each other.
They have been America’s two top-ranked players for some time and they are both in Saudi Arabia aiming to win their first WTA Finals title.
The pair have enjoyed bright spots this season and they hope to end their 2024 campaigns on a high with success in Riyadh.
Jessica Pegula and Coco Gauff are in the orange group at the WTA Finals along with Iga Swiatek and Barbora Krejčíková. On Saturday, this will not be the American duo’s first meeting at the season-ending event.
They faced one another at the 2023 WTA Finals in Cancun, where Pegula claimed the win for the loss of just three games to book her spot in the final.
Both players have been through so much since then, as Pegula reached her first Grand Slam final while Gauff claimed her second WTA 1000 title at the China Open.
Ahead of their sixth meeting, Pegula assessed how their games would match up against each other on a hard court.
“It depends. I think it suits my game. At the same time, Coco, she’s pretty good indoors as well. She’s had good records indoors. Obviously has a really big first serve. If she’s serving really well, I think it can make it difficult,” Pegula told reporters.
“I think it suits my game. Because of that, it depends on how we’re serving. You know she’s going to move great and get a lot of extra balls back.
“I don’t know. On a medium court, I feel like it favours me. At the same time I feel like she’s fast enough to get a lot of extra balls back that maybe other girls don’t. So yeah, I think it will be a tricky matchup.”
Pegula and Gauff have played one another five times, and the 30-year-old has a healthy advantage.
She has won four of their meetings, including their most recent contest at the Berlin Open in June, where the Pegula won 7-5, 7-6(2).
Gauff’s only victory against Pegula came at the 2023 Eastbourne Open via a 6-3, 6-3 scoreline.
The 20-year-old is one of the in-form players at the WTA Finals and she will fancy her chances of claiming another win over her doubles partner.
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