When it comes to the doubles category in WTA, there is hardly anyone as dominant as the deadly duo of Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula. Back in 2023, they took the tennis world by storm, proving themselves almost impossible to conquer. Coming into the Australian Open this year, they were hoping to carry forward their form and win their first major title together, especially considering they were the top seeds. However, their dream was over even before it started.

Earlier in the day, Jessica Pegula lost her second-round match against the unseeded Frenchwoman Clara Burel. After a relatively close contest in the first set, the World No. 5 completely lost her touch in the second, eventually crashing out of the singles tournament with a 6-4, 6-2 defeat. However, it seems as though her participation in doubles was collateral damage, and so was Coco Gauff.

In a move that shocked Gauff/Pegula fans, the all-American pair pulled out of the doubles draw at Melbourne Park. Although neither of them has addressed the withdrawal, Pegula’s challenging singles match could’ve been a contributing factor to the decision. Leading up to the Happy Slam, the World No.5 didn’t have the best warm-up tournaments at the United Cup and Adelaide. This decision, however, is coming after rumors about the pair planning to split after the 2024 Olympics this year.

Although they’ll be gunning for the title in the Olympics this year (set to take place in the clay courts of Roland Garros, where they reached the finals in 2022), could their withdrawal be the first sign of an impending split? Whether or not that’s true, this decision sure ensured that Pegula didn’t have to face Clara Burel for the second time today, seeing as the top seeds were drawn against Burel and Diane Parry in the first round. Talking about Burel, she was over the moon after she secured her first Top 10 victory on tour.

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Jessica Pegula’s opponent reflects on how she played in the match

Interestingly, this was the first time Clara Burel won a match against a top 10 player in the WTA. After winning her match, the Frenchwoman suggested her performance was ‘solid.’ Not only this, but she also added that she was focused throughout the match and was very happy about the result.

“I think I played a very solid performance today,” Burel said after her win. “I was really focused. Yeah, I didn’t let her come into this match. Very solid, and I’m really happy about this match today. I just saw that we [have] three [French women] in the third round. It didn’t happen since a few years. So yeah, it’s really nice to see everyone playing well.”

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With her consistency and belief, Clara Burel orchestrated one of the biggest upsets of the 2024 Australian Open so far. Whether or not her performance was the reason for Jessica Pegula and Coco Gauff to retire from the doubles draw, we’ll never know. But either way, Burel may have given herself a good chance in the doubles tournament as well.

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