Browsing: Pegula

Coco Gauff reeled off four straight games to beat Jessica Pegula 6-4, 7-5 and win the Wuhan Open on Sunday in an all-American final.

The 21-year-old Gauff won her second title of the year – her first was the French Open – and she now has 11 career titles.

The world No 3 found herself down 0-3 in the second set, then served to save it at 3-5 down. She held and then broke the Pegula to love for 5-5. Pegulaâ€s forehand volley at the net landed wide to give Gauff a first match point and, with Pegula on second serve, she clinched the contest with a forehand winner following a brief rally.

Pegula had staged a comeback of her own to beat world No 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the semi-finals. But this time she lost momentum and missed out on a 10th career title as Gauff became the second American to claim the Wuhan title, after Venus Williams in 2015.

It was their seventh career meeting and first in a final. Pegula leads 4-3 overall against Gauff, with whom she has won several doubles titles. Gauff complimented her opponent after the match.

“When I came on tour, you were one of the first people to be nice to me and welcome me with open arms. And that really goes a long way and still goes a long way,†Gauff said during the trophy presentation. “So I appreciate you. And itâ€s great to finally play in a final against you.â€

Pegulaâ€s last eight matches have all gone the distance, and she has won seven of them.

“Youâ€ve been playing a lot of three-setters – youâ€re a three-set queen,†Gauff said. “Iâ€d like to congratulate you on an incredible tournament. I was determined not to let you get there today because I felt the odds would be in your favour in a third set.â€

Gauff improved to 11-3 in finals; Pegula dropped to 9-11. The win adds to Gauffâ€s WTA 1000 triumphs in Cincinnati (2023) and Beijing (2024) and marks her third final at this level in 2025 after runner-up finishes in Madrid and Rome.

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World number one Aryna Sabalenka’s 20-match winning streak at the Wuhan Open came to an end as Jessica Pegula rallied from 5-2 down in the deciding set to win and set up a final against Coco Gauff.

Sabalenka had won in Wuhan in each of the past three tournaments and looked set to reach the final again when she broke twice to take command of the third set.

But 31-year-old Pegula dug deep to win four games in a row.

Sabalenka survived two match points to force a tie-break but had nothing left as American Pegula won 2-6 6-4 7-6 (7-2).

“For what I did in the tie-break, I’m just really proud of myself,” Pegula said.

“I’ve played so much tennis the last few weeks, so many three-set matches, but I feel like I’m very tough right now and I’m just using that [feeling] as best as I can.”

Earlier, French Open champion Gauff put in a stuttering performance but secured victory over Jasmine Paolini to reach the final.

The 21-year-old beat the Italian seventh seed 6-4 6-3 in a match featuring 11 breaks of serve in a row to reach her first final since her win at Roland Garros in June.

Gauff may have won in straight sets but struggled on serve, being broken five times and serving seven double faults.

“I’m really happy with how I played today. It was tough, especially playing on the serve, but I did what I needed to do to get through,” Gauff said.

“Sabalenka and Pegula are great players, and I’ve lost to them both before. But overall, I’m just going to focus on my side of the court and try to control the things I can control.”

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Oct 11, 2025, 09:34 AM ET

Coco Gauff had more struggles with her serve but overcame seven double faults to beat Jasmine Paolini 6-4, 6-3 on Saturday and reach the Wuhan Open final.

Gauff will face Jessica Pegula in Sunday’s title match after her fellow American came from behind to oust top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 (2).

The third-ranked Gauff edged Paolini by winning the battle of converted breaks 7-5 as both top-10 players struggled with their service games.

Gauff fought back from three breaks in the second set, which included a run of five consecutive double faults, and won the final four games to advance to the final.

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“I did what I needed to do to get through,” Gauff said.

Gauff, 21, who changed her serving coach in August, leads the women’s circuit this season with 378 double faults, over 120 more than the next player.

But she also excelled in another stat: Her 13 career wins over top-10 players at WTA 1000 events are the most by any player before turning 22 since 2009, the circuit said.

The fifth-ranked Paolini had eliminated Wimbledon champion Iga Swiatek in the quarterfinals and had won her previous three matches against Gauff, all played this season.

Pegula’s win set up only the third all-American WTA 1000 final since its inception in 2009, having also contested the last one in 2024 in Toronto when she defeated Amanda Anisimova in three sets.

Sabalenka was the three-time defending champion and boasted a 20-match winning streak at the tournament.

The Associated Press and PA contributed to this report.

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WUHAN, China — US Open champion Aryna Sabalenka’s winning streak at the Wuhan Open rolled on to 19 matches when she beat Liudmila Samsonova 6-3, 6-2 on Thursday to advance to the quarterfinals of the WTA 1000-level tournament.

The top-ranked Sabalenka’s streak includes winning titles at Wuhan in 2018, 2019 and 2024.

Earlier, Jessica Pegula recovered from an early service break in the third set to beat Ekaterina Alexandrova 7-5, 3-6, 6-3 and advance to the final eight. The sixth-seeded Pegula, who lost in the China Open semifinals last week, leveled the deciding set at 2-2 then won four of the last five games for victory.

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The win over No. 9 Alexandrova came a day after Pegula needed seven match points to beat fellow American Hailey Baptiste in the second round.

It was Pegula’s sixth straight three-set match, and for the fifth time, she won.

“I can’t remember the last time I played two sets,” Pegula said. “But I’ve been competing really hard, and I’ve been playing a lot of really good players. It was different conditions today with the roof closed, and I think it took us a little while to get adjusted.”

In night matches, No. 2 Iga Swiatek was scheduled to play Belinda Bencic and No. 3 Coco Gauff, coming off a semifinal loss to eventual champion Amanda Anisimova at the China Open last week, was due to face Zhang Shuai.

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Jessica Pegula was twice broken while serving for the match in the third set but recovered to edge Hailey Baptiste in a tight tiebreaker Wednesday and advance at the Wuhan Open.

Sixth-seeded Pegula beat her fellow American 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (6) on her seventh match point to reach the third round.

Pegula, who lost in the China Open semifinals last week, will next play ninth-seeded Ekaterina Alexandrova, who beat American Ann Li 7-6 (5), 6-2.

No. 3 Coco Gauff, coming off a semifinal loss to eventual champion Amanda Anisimova at the China Open, breezed into the next round with a 6-1, 6-0 win over Moyuka Uchijima in 51 minutes.

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No. 11 Naomi Osaka was upset by unseeded Linda Noskova 7-6 (2), 6-3. The 20-year-old Czech player was defeated by Anisimova in the final of the China Open on Sunday.

Noskova, ranked 17th, will next face either Jaqueline Cristian or Elena Rybakina.

No. 16 Liudmila Samsonova rallied to beat 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin 3-6, 6-3, 6-1, and qualifier KateÅina Siniaková beat Maya Joint 6-3, 6-1.

In the third round, Samsonova will face US Open champion Aryna Sabalenka, who defeated Rebecca Sramkova 4-6, 6-3, 6-1.

The top-ranked Sabalenka has had an amazing run in Wuhan. Her record is 18-0 while winning titles in 2018, 2019 and 2024. She took a Greek holiday after her second consecutive win at Flushing Meadows and withdrew from last week’s China Open, another WTA 1000-level event.

“I knew after that little break … it will be not that easy to get back in my rhythm. I’m really glad that in the second set I found my game and stepped in, and I think I played really great,” Sabalenka said. “I’m super happy to be back. I’ve won a lot of tournaments in China. It feels like home in this stadium, and I really hope I can go all the way.”

Sabalenka broke her 68th-ranked opponent in the opening game of the final set and converted her second match point to win in almost two hours.

After Sramkova broke Sabalenka twice to take the opening set, Sabalenka started her rally with a break in the fourth game of the second set and jumped to a 4-1 lead. She saved four break points in the seventh game.

Karolina Muchova became the latest player to succumb to the heat and humidity, withdrawing from her match while trailing Magdalena Frech 7-6 (1), 4-1.

The Associated Press and PA contributed to this report.

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For the better part of two hours on court at the China Open against one of the toughest possible opponents, Emma Raducanuâ€s varied, steadily improving game was in full flow. She seemed to be moving confidently towards one of the most impressive victories of her career.

When it was time to close out victory against the world No 7 Jessica Pegula, however, Raducanu simply crumbled under pressure. After her positive start, Raducanuâ€s time in Beijing ended in a catastrophic loss as she failed to convert three match points before losing 3-6, 7-6 (9), 6-0 to Pegula in the third round.

Raducanuâ€s front-running abilities have been a strength so far in her career, but this defeat marks her second consecutive loss after holding multiple match points. Her loss to the two-time grand slam champion Barbora Krejcikova 11 days ago in Seoul was eerily similar – the 22-year-old held two match points before rapidly falling away and losing 4-6, 7-6 (10), 6-1.

She had burst into this match full of confidence, successfully disrupting Pegulaâ€s clean, rhythmic shotmaking with her backhand slice, variation and defensive skills. When Pegula began to find her range and put Raducanu under significant pressure, Raducanu showed her other improvements by serving precisely and striking her forehand brilliantly. She held off Pegula throughout an intense, high-quality second set before reaching match point at 6-5 in the tie-break.

Having put herself in a winning position, Raducanu did not do much wrong on her match points. Pegula saved the first two with two astounding backhand down-the-line winners from defensive positions before injecting pace into a forehand to force a Raducanu error on the third. After leading 5-2 in the tie-break, Raducanuâ€s most significant error was a double fault at 5-4. Although she immediately recovered from it, Pegula clearly gained confidence from her opponentâ€s nerves.

Closing out big matches is tough for all players. Everybody chokes at some point. The top players, however, are usually defined by how they react to these situations. The most concerning part of Raducanuâ€s performance was her lack of resilience as she fell away in the final set, her energy and intensity flatlining as Pegula eased to victory. Her response to squandering match points against Krejcikova in Seoul was identical.

Emma Raducanu leaves the court after her match against Jessica Pegula at the China Open. Photograph: Lintao Zhang/Getty Images

For many players, the Asian swing signifies the final stretch of a long, arduous season, but this is a particularly meaningful tournament for Raducanu. This week marked Raducanuâ€s long-awaited tour-level debut in China, where her mother, Renee, is originally from. After nearly two months working with her new coach, Francisco Roig, Raducanu has clearly made improvements to her game but they will leave Beijing with the job of dissecting one of the toughest setbacks of her career.

While Raducanu faltered, Sonay Kartal, the British No 3, continued her excellent form in Beijing by moving into the fourth round with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Maya Joint of Australia. Things had been difficult for Kartal after her run to the fourth round at Wimbledon, losing her subsequent three matches. However, after two positive matches in the Billie Jean King Cup Finals, she has found an excellent run of form in Beijing and she is yet to drop a set. She next faces the fourth seed Mirra Andreeva in the round of 16.

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Iga Swiatek, the top seed, continued her formidable form by reaching the fourth round with a retirement win over Camila Osorio after leading 6-0. In the menâ€s Beijing tournament, Jannik Sinner moved into the semi-final with an efficient 6-1, 7-5 win over Fabian Marozsan.

The menâ€s world No 1, Carlos Alcaraz, meanwhile, continued to play the best tennis of his career at the Japan Open in Tokyo as he reached his ninth consecutive final with a 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 win over Casper Ruud. He will next face Taylor Fritz, the second seed, who beat Jenson Brooksby 6-4, 6-3.

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Emma Raducanu again failed to take three match points as she was beaten 6-3 6-7 (9-11) 6-0 by Jessica Pegula in a hard-fought last-32 tie at the China Open.

The British number one, who lost to Barbora Krejcikova in similar fashion earlier this month, faded in a match that lasted two hours and 21 minutes.

Meanwhile, fellow Briton Sonay Kartal advanced to the round of 16 after beating Maya Joint in Beijing.

Raducanu, ranked 32 in the world, took the first set against world number seven Pegula before both players wrestled for control in the second – the usually composed American giving a shout of frustration and throwing her racquet to the floor in the fifth game.

Pegula went on to save two break points before a dramatic tie-break in which she saved three match points – two with backhand winners and the other on Raducanu’s serve – then dominated in the third set.

“It was a crazy match, ” said Pegula, who will meet Marta Kostyuk in the last 16 after she beat Aliaksandra Sasnovich 6-4 6-2.

“That was really intense. I got myself back into the tie-break and just wanted to keep the pressure on.

“To be honest, I think I got a little bit lucky on two of those where I hit those two backhand winners but, other than that I just tried to keep fighting for as long as I could.”

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Watch the best shots, as the United States’ Jessica Pegula fights back from a set down to beat Katie Boulter…

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