Gauff survives missed match point to edge Pegula at WTA Finals
Coco Gauff, the fourth seed, let a match point slip in the second set before regrouping to beat fifth seed Jessica Pegula 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-2 at the WTA Finals in Indian Wells. It was her first win over a top-10 player this season, and a measure of revenge for her round-robin loss to Pegula in Riyadh in 2025.
Coco Gauff, 2026 | © Virginie Bouyer pour Creafeed
Fourth seed Coco Gauff let a match point slip away in the second set, then regrouped to beat fifth seed Jessica Pegula 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-2 at the WTA Finals in Indian Wells on Sunday.
It was Gauff’s first win over a top-10 player this season. Pegula had beaten her in the round robin of the 2025 WTA Finals in Riyadh, 6-3, 6-7 (4), 6-2. Gauff’s tour record against Pegula now stands at three wins and five defeats.
Gauff broke serve in the first and third games of the deciding set to lead 3-0. Pegula broke back at once, but Gauff broke again for 5-2 and served out the match on her second match point. That clean finish came after a second set that swung both ways.
Gauff then held a match point at 6-5, which Pegula saved before taking the tie-break 7-5.
Pegula finished with 55 unforced errors, against 41 for Gauff, and lost her serve seven times. Over the deciding set, those errors left her too far behind to recover.
Gauff has yet to win a title in 2026. Her only final of the season ended in a 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 defeat by Aryna Sabalenka in Miami in March.
WTA Finals Group 1: provisional standings
| Player | Wins-losses | Sets | Games |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Linda Noskova (CZE) | 1-0 | 2-0 | 12-6 |
| 2. Coco Gauff (USA) | 1-0 | 2-1 | 18-13 |
| 3. Jessica Pegula (USA) | 0-1 | 1-2 | 13-18 |
| 4. Marta Kostyuk (UKR) | 0-1 | 0-2 | 6-12 |
Noskova beat Kostyuk 6-2, 6-4 in the other Group 1 match on Sunday. The top two reach the semi-finals on Saturday.
