Coco Gauff vs. Jessica Pegula - prediction, form, head-to-head

Weeks aft their Wuhan showdown, Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula look disconnected successful Sunday's all-American clash astatine the WTA Finals successful Riyadh.

The defending champion returns to the year-end lawsuit successful bully signifier aft claiming the rubric astatine the WTA 1000 tournament, and the two-time Grand Slam victor aims to get disconnected to a affirmative commencement successful the round-robin contest.

Match preview

Twelve months aft defeating in-form opponents Aryna Sabalenka and Qinwen Zheng successful the semi-finals and final, respectively, Gauff returns to Riyadh aiming to commencement her defence strongly.

Last year’s rubric lucifer against Zheng was a three-hour epic that the American No. 1 won aft coming from a acceptable down to triumph 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(2).

A topsy-turvy twelvemonth began with the 21-year-old winning her archetypal 9 matches of 2025, lone for a dip pursuing the Australian Open to spot the American No. 1 suffer aboriginal successful Doha, Dubai, Indian Wells and Miami.

However, a resurgence during the clay play was inevitable, and Gauff reached the quarter-finals successful Stuttgart and the last successful Madrid and Rome, losing to Sabalenka and Jasmine Paolini, respectively.

Nevertheless, Gauff's persistence and consistency connected the ungraded paid disconnected eventually, arsenic she overcame Sabalenka successful an error-strewn Roland Garros final.

The writer play was a washout, and the US Open failed to conscionable lofty expectations; however, the two-time Grand Slam champion has recovered a 3rd wind, reaching the semi-finals successful Beijing and claiming the rubric successful Wuhan.

Pegula was the hostile successful that WTA 1000 final, with the 31-year-old incapable to afloat capitalise connected her triumph implicit Sabalenka successful the semi-final, thereby ending the Belarusian’s 20-match winning streak and her bid for a 4th consecutive crown.

The 2024 US Open runner-up was aiming for her 4th rubric of 2025, having already won successful Austin, Charleston and Bad Homburg.

Having 51 wins successful 2025 is simply a notable achievement, and the American No. 3 and satellite No. 5 is aiming for her 52nd to amended her existent 51-21 grounds for the season.

Pegula's travel to the 2023 last could not beryllium repeated 12 months ago, arsenic she withdrew earlier her last radical match, but she is aiming for a much favourable instrumentality to Riyadh. 

Indeed, defeating Gauff for the 5th clip would enactment her successful a beardown presumption for different heavy tally astatine the year-end tournament.

Head To Head

Wuhan (2025) - Final: Gauff 6-4 7-5

WTA Finals (2024) - Round Robin: Gauff 6-3 6-2

German Open (2024) - Semi-finals: Pegula 7-5 7-6[2]

WTA Finals (2023) - Semi-finals: Pegula 6-2 6-1

Montreal Open (2023) - Quarter-finals: Pegula 6-2 5-7 7-5

Eastbourne International (2023) - Quarter-finals: Gauff 6-3 6-3

Dubai Tennis Championships (2022) - Round of 32: Pegula 6-4 6-4

Pegula leads Gauff 4-3 successful their head-to-head record, but that does not archer the full story.

Although some players divided their archetypal 2 meetings connected the tour, Pegula past won 3 consecutive matches to unfastened a 4-1 pb implicit the younger American player.

However, Gauff has since recorded back-to-back victories implicit the 31-year-old, astir precocious defeating the erstwhile satellite No. 3 successful the Wuhan rubric match.

Six of their erstwhile encounters person been settled successful consecutive sets, but for their quarter-final successful Montreal 2 years ago, which Pegula won successful three.

We say: Gauff to triumph successful 3 sets

Although overmuch volition beryllium connected a speedy start, it remains to beryllium seen if Gauff adapts to the indoor conditions arsenic good arsenic her opponent. 

The all-American clash is apt to beryllium a back-and-forth battle, and we expect the two-time Slam victor to bushed Pegula successful three.  

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