World No. 3 Coco Gauff came out swinging in her first match of this year’s WTA Finals in Riyadh, defeating Jessica Pegula in straight sets in an all-American round-robin clash, 6-3, 6-2.
And with that victory, Gauff achieved a number of things.
First of all, she snapped Pegula’s 14-match winning streak against fellow Americans. Pegula hadn’t lost to a compatriot since falling to Madison Keys at last year’s US Open.
Second of all, it was her biggest win in a year. Her victory over the world No. 6 was her biggest win since beating a No. 6-ranked Marketa Vondrousova at last year’s WTA Finals.
And last but certainly not least, it was the 20th Top 10 win of her career. It’s pretty incredible given she’s still only 20 years old.
Gauff recorded the first Top 10 win of her career five years ago—as a 15-year-old—at the indoor event in Linz in 2019, defeating a No. 8-ranked Kiki Bertens en route to her first WTA title there.
COCO GAUFF’S 20 CAREER TOP 20 WINS:
d. No. 8 Bertens in ’19 Linz QFs
d. No. 4 Osaka in ’20 Australian Open 3rd Rd
d. No. 4 Sabalenka in ’21 Rome 3rd Rd
d. No. 1 Barty in ’21 Rome QFs
d. No. 4 Badosa in ’22 Doha 3rd Rd
d. No. 7 Pliskova in ’22 Berlin QFs
d. No. 6 Sabalenka in ’22 Toronto 3rd Rd
d. No. 4 Pegula in ’23 Eastbourne QFs
d. No. 9 Sakkari in ’23 Washington D.C. F
d. No. 10 Vondrousova in ’23 Montreal 3rd Rd
d. No. 1 Swiatek in ’23 Cincinnati SFs
d. No. 10 Muchova in ’23 US Open SFs
d. No. 2 Sabalenka in ’23 US Open F
d. No. 6 Sakkari in ’23 Beijing QFs
d. No. 7 Jabeur in ’23 WTA Finals RR
d. No. 6 Vondrousova in ’23 WTA Finals RR
d. No. 7 Zheng in ’24 Rome QFs
d. No. 9 Jabeur in ’24 Roland Garros QFs
d. No. 10 Jabeur in ’24 Berlin QFs
d. No. 6 Pegula in ’24 WTA Finals RR
