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. Pegula’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 it’s great to finally play in a final against you.”
Pegula’s last eight matches have all gone the distance, and she has won seven of them.
“You’ve been playing a lot of three-setters – you’re a three-set queen,” Gauff said. “I’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.”
Gauff improved to 11-3 in finals; Pegula dropped to 9-11. The win adds to Gauff’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.