American women’s tennis is in safe hands. Currently, there has been healthy competition in the WTA, with four out of ten rankings representing the Stars and Stripes. Coco Gauff currently leads the race, sitting in the second spot on that list, while Jessica Pegula is getting inches closer to chasing her down with stellar performances this season. Although Gauff hasn’t won a title this year, she has already reached the finals in Madrid and Rome. On the other hand, Pegula has clinched two titles (ATX Open and Charleston Open) this year, and guess what? We’ve already seen quite a few shocking exits this year, but both of them have been in red-hot form at the French Open recently. Talking about the favorites of this tournament, Gauff previously claimed, “Literally anybody can win this tournament. I think that’s what makes women’s tennis exciting.” Now, what’s even more interesting is Pegula taking over Gauff with the help of an astonishing feat after her recent win against her compatriot Ann Li in the second round of the French Open. What’s that record, though?

Well, Jessica Pegula knows that in order to win big titles, she has to beat big players. Talking about her goals, the coach, Mark Knowles, once said, “Outside of winning Slams, the second-biggest goal for all of these [elite] players is to make the year-end championship. It’s validation you had a great season, and it’s just the top eight players in the world; it’s really hard to get there. She’s (Pegula) excited about it and looking forward to meeting the challenge against the best of the best.” This year, Pegula has already secured quite a few big wins against some of the tough opponents on the women’s Tour and with this incredible performance, she has now become the second player in 2025 to claim 30+ WTA-level main draw victories, after the current world number one Aryna Sabalenka.

If we draw a comparison, as per WTA stats, her compatriot, Coco Gauff, has played 32 matches this season and has won just 24 out of them. If we take a look at their earnings, Gauff has earned $2,786,111 this season, whereas Pegula has secured $1,493,581. But, despite being one place behind Gauff in the rankings and having earned a bit less than the youngster so far, it seems the 31-year-old will now come up with a tough chase against Gauff. Keeping rivalries aside, both these players have also been close friends on and off the court.

Speaking about how important it is to be a part of this elite American group to push for further success, she once claimed, “You know, having Coco and Maddie win Slams over the last couple of years as Americans is huge for women’s tennis or for women’s tennis in America. I don’t know if maybe that’s kind of inspiring to maybe some of the lower-ranked Americans to do really well or the younger generation. That’s just been really incredible. I’m happy to just kind of be a part of that group, to be a part of that group for the last couple of years now, it’s been really cool.“

Even Coco Gauff recently gave a nod to her fellow compatriots, including Jessica Pegula and Madison Keys, who have achieved several milestones this year. During an interview at Roland Garros, she said, “I think it means a lot to all of us. I think we all root for each other…Just to have so many options for friends, so many options for practice, so many options for doubles, it’s just nice. And I guess to be a part of that means a lot.“

Do you know that Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula have been a successful partnership in the past in the doubles events? They were in fact also the runners-up at the 2022 French Open and had won three WTA 1000 women’s doubles titles. They had also reached the number one spot in the WTA Doubles Rankings in the past, but since the 2024 Paris Olympics, they have not been playing together in these doubles events. What do these two have to say on this, though?

Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula shed light on their doubles split

Speaking on this topic in a previous interview, Jessica Pegula claimed that she is unlikely to play many doubles events this year. “I mean, Coco and I played so much for a couple of years there. We did great. A lot of really amazing results and memories. At the same time doing well in the singles court, we obviously didn’t want to play as much anymore. The schedule just gets really, really tough. I’ve barely played this year, and probably won’t play any of the Grand Slams this year. I don’t think I’m going to play any of the Grand Slams just because the scheduling; it gets really hard. I always feel like at the end of the day I’m going to have to pull out or something like that.”

Is there a chance of a reunion in the near future? Well, while commenting on this doubles split and how their relationship has been after that, Coco Gauff said, “Jess and I, we’re cool. Well, she invited me to go to movies, but she didn’t follow up on that (laughing). I don’t know if y’all saw that. But, yeah, Jess and I are cool, and all the people I played doubles in the past are cool. It’s just more, I mean, we both, I mean, Jess is playing less doubles too, me as well. I think it helps me. I definitely won’t be playing a full schedule, or definitely won’t be playing in the slams, but every now and then I think it’s good just to go out there, because I think it brings me joy to play, and then it translates into my singles.”

Talking about their performances in the singles event, Coco Gauff defeated Australia’s Olivia Gadecki in the first round by 6-2,6-2, and she’ll be facing the Czech, Tereza Valentova, in the next round. With this win in the first round, Gauff became the youngest player to win the opening match at all their first six appearances at Roland Garros in women’s singles since Martina Hingis (1995-2000). Other than that, she is now also the youngest player competing for the U.S. to claim more than 20 women’s singles wins at Roland Garros in the Open Era.

On the other hand, Jessica Pegula defeated Anca Todoni in the first round, and then in the second, she outclassed Ann Li by 6-3,7-6(3). Next up for her is the 2023 Wimbledon champion, Marketa Vondrousova. Is there a chance of Coco Gauff meeting Jessica Pegula at the 2025 French Open? Yes, if they reach the SF! Who do you think has the higher chance of winning the big clay court title this year?