Coco Gauff took a moment to send out a very special message to Jessica Pegula following their Wuhan final clash as the 21-year-old told the 31-year-old that she deeply appreciated everything that she did for her when she first arrived on the Tour.
Although Gauff is just 21, she has been competing on the biggest stage for the past six years - she introduced herself to the tennis world by reaching the 2019 Wimbledon round-of-16 as a 15-year-old qualifier.
At the time, Pegula had already had a couple of years of experience competing on the WTA Tour. And she quickly made herself available for Gauff for any advice or help she needed. It didn't take long before the two started playing doubles together and also achieving big success.
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Today, world No. 3 Gauff is the top-ranked American female tennis player and has accomplished some great things by 21, since she already has two Grand Slams and a WTA Finals title in her collection.
On Sunday, the 21-year-old lifted her 10th WTA title after beating Pegula 6-4 7-5 in the final of the WTA 1000 tournament in Wuhan.
Gauff to Pegula: You welcomed me with open arms... I appreciate you
When I came on tour, you were one of the first people to be nice to me and welcome me with open arms. That really went a long way, so I appreciate you. Its great to finally play in the final against you, and I hope for many more. So, congratulations and thank you, the reigning French Open champion told Pegula.
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Gauff and Pegula won five doubles titles across the 2022 and 2023 seasons. In 2022, they fell just short of winning the French Open doubles title after losing to Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic in the final. However, they haven't played any tournaments together since pairing up for the 2024 Paris Olympics and exiting it in the round-of-16.
There had been some speculations this yearabout the two not being on good terms, but both have denied those claims being true.
