Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula participated in the WTA Finals, earlier this month in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Pegula shared a recap of her stay in the Middle East and her ex-doubles partner Gauff reacted to it.
Pegula took to Instagram to share a collection of images and videos capturing her experiences in Saudi Arabia during the WTA Finals. Her post featured moments on the court, desert adventures, a glimpse of her locker room, and highlights from the WTA Finals gala held prior to the event.
The World No. 7 captioned her post:
"Forgot to post these? @wtafinalsriyadh"
Coco Gauff commented on the post:
"Cuteeee"
At the event, Jessica Pegula played and lost two matches in the Round Robin stage before withdrawing from the event. Meanwhile, Gauff went all the way to win the title.
Coco Gauff defeated Jessica Pegula in the WTA Finals 2024 Round Robin stage
Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula met in the Round Robin stage of the WTA Finals on Sunday, November 3. The all-American clash went Gauff's way as she won the match 6-3, 6-2. This was the 20-year-old's second win over Pegula in her sixth attempt.
"It was a tough match. She’s always a tough opponent. Overall I’m just happy with how I played," Gauff said in her post-match interview. "I think we were both playing at a high level, I was just able to break through on some of the more important points."
In their next Round Robin matches, Gauff defeated World No. 2 Iga Swiatek 6-3, 6-4 while Pegula fell to Barbora Krejcikova 6-3, 6-3. Pegula withdrew from the event before she played against Swiatek in her final Round Robin tie. In a statement, the 30-year-old explained:
"What started as a really small issue flared over the last two matches and I just can’t continue tomorrow. I’m sorry to the fans and tournament. I really had a great week of prep and had high hopes here but it just wasn’t meant to be. Thank you for the warm welcome Riyadh @WTAFinalsRiyadh"
Daria Kasatkina replaced Pegula in the event and lost to the Pole in the final Round Robin match.
Meanwhile, Gauff advanced to the semifinals and defeated World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka 7-6(4), 6-3 before taking down Zheng Qinwen in the final 3-6, 6-4, 7-6. The 20-year-old American became the youngest WTA Finals champion since Maria Sharapova in 2004.