Hilarious scenes in US Open doubles as Jessica Pegula declines hug after Coco Gauff forgets score & wrongly celebrates win

Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula were left in splits after the former's scoreline blunder during their doubles match at the 2023 US Open.

On Wednesday, August 30, Gauff and Pegula took to Grandstand for their opening US Open doubles match. The American pair faced compatriots Elizabeth Mandlik and Quinn Gleason and registered a 6-2, 6-1 victory in a mere 47 minutes.

Coco Gauff was seemingly eager to finish the match even sooner as she hilariously celebrated the victory prematurely, while being one game shy of the win.

Gauff produced an outstanding return winner on Elizabeth Mandlik’s serve at 4-1, 0-40 in the second set. She and Pegula thus earned an insurance break and increased their lead to 5-1.

The 19-year-old, however, lost track of the score and thought that she had hit a decisive winner on match point. She ecstatically approached Pegula for a hug, but was rejected by the confused World No. 3, who reminded her of the actual score.

Realizing Gauff’s blunder, both the players burst into laughter.

They ended up sealing the win in their very next service game. In the on-court interview, Gauff revisited the hilarious incident and admitted that she thought the match was over given how well they were playing. She added that reality dawned on her only when Pegula rejected her embrace.

“I felt the match was over,” Gauff said, laughing. “I hit like a great return and I like went for a hug and Jess was like going away from me. And I was like, ‘Damn! What did I do?’”

“Then I realized that the match wasn’t over. She’s like, ‘What’s the score?’ and I was like, ‘Oh! There’s no game, set, match.’ So, yeah, that was me. My mess up. We were playing so good. So, I thought it was over,” she added.

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Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula both still in contention for the US Open 2023 singles title

Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula at the 2023 US Open

Having falling short in the women’s doubles final at the 2022 French Open, Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula would be hoping to win their maiden Slam doubles title in New York. The American duo has advanced to the second round of the US Open and will face Cristina Bucsa and Alexandra Panova next.

In singles too, World No. 6 Gauff is through to the third round. Just hours before their doubles match, she defeated Mirra Andreeva 6-3, 6-2 in an all-teenage second-round clash.

In the opening round, Gauff had outlasted veteran Laura Siegemund 3-6, 6-2, 6-4. She will now face Belgium’s Elise Mertens for a spot in the fourth round.

World No. 3 Jessica Pegula, meanwhile, has been placed in the opposite half of the draw. She got the better of Camila Giorgi with a convincing 6-2, 6-2 score in the opening round.

The Canadian Open champion now awaits Romania’s Patricia Maria Tig in the second round -- to be held on Thursday, August 31.