“I thought we both were playing high level,” said Coco Gauff last season when she and compatriot Jessica Pegula last met in a professional encounter during the group stage of the WTA Finals. Back then, the two-time slam queen beat Pegula, a US Open finalist. Nearly a year later, they are locked in for another clash – but this one is going to be a high stakes battle. At the Wuhan Open on Sunday, Pegula and Gauff will step onto the court with the sole purpose of clinching their maiden trophy at the 1000-level event.

Ahead of the anticipated clash, Pegula has already begun playing mind games given their past rivalry. For the uninitiated, she and Gauff have faced each other six times already across various WTA events in their careers. Clearly, the two are familiar with each other’s style, strengths, and weaknesses. Due to which, Pegula believes she knows every trick her compatriot can bring on the court. Reflecting on facing the World No.3 again, she admitted, “It’ll be awesome playing Coco in a final here. We know each other so well.”

Speaking about her strategy, the World No.6 added, “There’s no secrets — we know what we’re going to try and do and what our gameplans are.” According to her, the ultimate result will depend on “who can execute it the best,” as reported the WTA’s website on October 11. When it comes to who leads the H2H tally as of now, it is Pegula (4-2). Clearly, she has a slight edge over the two-time major champion.

Pegula is extremely confident after besting her archrival Aryna Sabalenka on Saturday. In the semifinal clash, the 31-year-old managed to pull off a sensational victory after trailing in the first set. She went on to clinch the win after leveling the scores in the second before defeating the World No.1 in the decider. With a scoreline of 2-6, 6-4, 7-6(2), she entered her maiden Wuhan final.

What really stands out in Pegula’s tennis journey in the last few weeks is her quality of snatching wins from the brink of defeat. Against Sabalenka, she played her eighth-consecutive three-setter lately. Out of them, she has won a total of seven battles already, with the last four coming in her Wuhan campaign.

Jessica Pegula looks to maintain winning momentum ahead of WTA Finals

This week has been a double delight for Jessica Pegula. Not only did she secure her spot in the Wuhan Open final, the former World No.3 also successfully qualified for the WTA Finals. She made it happen after besting Katerina Siniakova in the quarterfinal battle to improve her position in the Live Race to Riyadh.

It is the fourth-straight season in which Pegula has qualified for the year-end tournament. Moving ahead, Pegula’s goal will be to extend her winning streak with a trophy on Sunday. Doing so will also boost her confidence going into the WTA Finals campaign. Her track record at the tournament hasn’t been inspiring. Out of her last three outings (2022, 2023, and 2024), she has failed twice to clear the group stage.

On a positive note, though, she did reach the final, in 2023, before Iga Swiatek bested her eventually. This time, Pegula would like to repeat that performance while hoping to clinch the coveted trophy. Before Riyadh, however, the current mission is Wuhan. It will be intriguing to see if she can edge out Gauff to win the WTA 1000 tournament.