The all-American final saw Guaff She opened up a 5-0 lead in less than a half hour on court. She continued the momentum into the second set and finally floundered at 5-2 when she failed to serve out the match.
The all-American final saw Guaff She opened up a 5-0 lead in less than a half hour on court. She continued the momentum into the second set and finally floundered at 5-2 when she failed to serve out the match.
But Gauff refocused and broke Pegula to love for a comprehensive 6-2, 6-4 victory. The title sees Gauff join tennis royalty with Serena Williams and Victoria Azarenka as two-time champions at the WTA 1000 tournament.
“I think with each match, I was feeling more and more confident in trusting the work that I put in and the practice,” the 22-year-old said afterwards.
“Knowing that I can figure out these matches, and it’s going to be tough in New York, but just knowing the quality wins that I had this week, knowing that I’m able to figure it out even if I’m not playing my best, but also knowing that I can play that great tennis that I felt like I was playing this week.”
For Pegula, she took defeat in her stride. The American has played 13 matches over the last four weeks, racking up a 10-3 record.
“I’m actually feeling pretty good,” she quipped.
“When I got out there, I still felt like I was moving pretty well, and you know, didn’t feel heavy or anything. Of course, I’m probably a little emotionally zapped. Just a lot of tough matches over the last couple days, so I’ll do my best to just kind of get away from tennis for at least a day.”
Both players are set to be in action at the 2026 US Open at Flushing Meadows, which gets underway on Sunday.
