Gauff tops Pegula to join Swiatek at top of Orange Group at WTA Finals

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — World No. 3 Coco Gauff joined No. 2 Iga Swiatek atop the Orange Group after defeating No. 6 Jessica Pegula 6-3, 6-2 in her opening match at the WTA Finals Riyadh presented by PIF. The win is Gauff’s 20th career Top 10 win and first on hard court since last year’s WTA Finals in Cancun.

Gauff faces Swiatek on Tuesday, with the winner taking control of Orange Group. Pegula will face Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova.

WTA Finals Riyadh: Results | Schedule | Position

Gauff entered his opener against Pegula as the favorite based on placement and form, but an underdog based on history. Pegula won four of their five previous meetings, including their last three. Both Americans have seen an increase in the back half of the season. Pegula tore through the North American hard-court season with a title in Toronto and back-to-back finals in Cincinnati and the US Open.

But Gauff ran through the tape in the regular season, winning the China Open to claim her second WTA 1000 title and reaching the semifinals in Wuhan the following week. That run sealed the 20-year-old’s place in her third straight WTA final. Since the reintroduction of the round-robin format in 2003, she is only the second player to reach three or more consecutive WTA finals before turning 21, joining Maria Sharapova (2004–07).

“I think maybe I served better than previous times, and it’s our first time, I think, playing each other hard indoors, so maybe that had something to do with it,” Gauff said.

“I don’t know. I think I know I’ve lost to her a lot, but it doesn’t feel like it sometimes because we practice a lot and of course sometimes I win practice sets when we play. sometimes I do she that, so it doesn’t feel like the head to head is as bad as it was.”

In faster conditions that seem to favor Pegula, Gauff was the one who proved more effective from the ground. She doubled Pegula in the winning column, hitting 16 to Pegula’s eight, and kept more sustained pressure on Pegula’s serve. Gauff generated eight break point chances during the 75-minute match and converted five. Pegula could only manage two breaks from three chances.

“I just felt a little off,” Pegula said. “I didn’t feel like I necessarily hit the ball that bad, but just made a few extra mistakes. Against someone like that, who has obviously also had a really good slump after the Open, she feels confident, so you can just” Don’t really let those moments slip away.”

“I thought we both played at a high level,” Gauff said. “I just think I was able to break through on the more important points.”

Next up for Gauff is a 13th career meeting against Swiatek. The Polish player came from a set and a break down to defeat Krejcikova in her opener to secure her first win since the US Open. Swiatek has a dominant 11-1 head-to-head record against Gauff.

Pegula will look to bounce back against Krejcikova. It will be their first meeting since Dubai in 2023. They have split their two previous meetings.

“I’ve been playing well all week so I know it’s there,” Pegula said. “I just need to put my head down, look forward to the next game and really try and I think kind of get some more energy next game. I just felt a little flat today.”