Coco Gauff celebrates dear friend and doubles partner Jessica Pegula's birthday by sharing glamorous picture from their time on tour together

Jessica Pegula turned 29 on Friday, February 24. To celebrate her birthday, Coco Gauff shared a sweet memory of her time on tour with the dear friend and longtime doubles partner.

Coco Gauff, who is currently in Dubai alongside Pegula for the WTA 1000 Dubai Tennis Championships, wished the World No. 3 a happy birthday by posting a glamorous picture from the 2022 WTA Finals gala night in Fort Worth, Texas. It was the first WTA Finals appearance for the pair – where they qualified in both singles as well as doubles category.

“Happy Birthday Jessica Pegula,” Coco Gauff wrote, sharing a picture of the duo in their purple carpet look, donning cowboy hats.

The American pair have built a strong bond, owing to their time on tour together, and have frequently voiced their admiration for each other.

Recently, after Jessica Pegula’s tragic revelation about her mother’s cardiac arrest, Coco Gauff stated that she was proud of the World No. 3 for opening up about the vulnerable incident and admired her for pulling through and showing up despite the tough times.

“I'm super proud of her for that,” the 18-year-old said, “Honestly, I look up to her in that way. You know, I have been experiencing it up close, and just seeing the way she carries herself, you would have never guessed all the things she's gone through. So that speaks to her personality and speaks to her level of coolness. Hopefully, I can have that.”

Till date, the doubles partners have participated in 15 events together and won four titles. They even featured in the women’s doubles final at the 2022 French Open, where they finished as the runner-up. Most recently, Gauff and Pegula successfully defended their title at the 2023 Qatar Open.

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Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula's run at the 2023 Dubai Tennis Championships

The American doubles pair successfully defended their Qatar Open title

Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula crashed out of the 2023 Dubai Tennis Championships in both singles and doubles. The American duo, who were contesting the doubles title in the WTA 1000 tournament on the back of their successful title defense in Qatar, were seen off in the quarterfinals by Taiwanese pair Latisha Chang and Hao-ching Chan.

In the singles category, both athletes put on an impressive showing by reaching the semifinals. Gauff, however, faced a straight-sets defeat at the hands of World No. 1 Iga Swiatek 6-4, 6-2.

Meanwhile, Jessica Pegula faced a heartbreaking loss on her birthday to 2021 French Open champion and former World No. 2 Barbora Krejcikova in the semifinals in Dubai. The American was able to force a decider on her Czech opponent, but ultimately went down with a bagel in the third set 6-1, 5-7, 6-0.