WTA Finals: Pegula secures spot in final with win over Gauff

CANCUN — Jessica Pegula defeated doubles partner and fellow American Coco Gauff 6-2, 6-1 to advance to the championship match of the WTA Finals in singles category.

The No.5 seeded American will play against the winner of the highly anticipated second semifinal between No.1 Aryna Sabalenka and No.2 Iga Swiatek.

For the first time since 2012, the Top 3 ranked players in the world advanced to the semifinal stage of the WTA Finals. There have been 25 different singles winners, with a 26th to be crowned here at the end, WTA reports.

Pegula, after losing all three of her matches at last year’s WTA Finals in Fort Worth, is now a pristine 4-0 in Estadio Paradisus. For the record, she has beaten No.1-ranked Aryna Sabalenka, No.3 Gauff, No.4 Elena Rybakina and No.9 Maria Sakkari.

Gauff was broken six times and lost 29 of her 49 service points. She finished with only six winners and 25 unforced errors. Pegula was a tidier nine and 11.

The 19-year-old Gauff was bidding to become the first teenager to reach the final at WTA Finals since Martina Hingis did it in 1999. The last teenager to win the title at the WTA finals was Maria Sharapova in 2004.

Also read: WTA Finals: Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff register wins to advance to semifinals