"Before I even saw the video, she came and apologised immediately" - WTA Finals controversy not leaking onto court as Coco Gauff clears the air

Following all the aftermath and debacle following the controversy ahead of the WTA Finals, Coco Gauff did her talking on the court as Jessica Pegula was taken down 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-2. All the talk of the tournament had previously been centred around a specific incident ahead of the event, but Gauff took no attention to that with tennis finally taking precedent in Indian Wells.

While the main story was centred around the WTA, Pegula and Mirra Andreeva, the American No.1 also found herself in the drama. Pegula's comments on the Worls No.3 following their practice session were picked up by microphones on the side of the court. The players did not know that they were there, and every fatal work the 32-year-old said was picked up.

Most of it was ranting about her Russian rival to her coach, Mark Knowles, but there was a certain segment where she seemed to rate Andreeva's tennis ability over Gauff's. "She’s wonderful, she’s got the perfect serve," Pegula said. "She moves like a cat, she’s smart, she anticipates well,” she said. "It’s so funny how, like, you see her and then you see Coco’s mentality. If she had Coco’s mentality she’d be better than Coco."

That added a bit more fire to the flame ahead of the American duo's clash on court to commence their 2026 WTA Finals campaigns. Gauff struck late in the first set after surviving a trio of break points in brilliant fashion.

Pegula then took a 5-1 lead in the second but missed set points, and a determined Gauff extinguished that once large advantage. At the sixth time of asking, Pegula got over the line in the tiebreak and forced a third set decider. However, she had ran out of steam as Gauff stretched her legs. She got her first win on the board, a massive boost ahead of the rest of the event.

Of course the Pegula incident was always going to be brought up in the press conference. Gauff had been mentioned in this, but she instantly shut down any feud going on between the two.

"No, I wasn’t really thinking. Jess, she told me. Before I even saw the video, she came and apologised immediately," she recalled. "Honestly, I didn’t really take it. I feel like maybe the other person in the situation got a lot more of it. Even her coach apologised to me."

Whatever occurred, it was not going to affect the Gauff game plan and mentality ahead of the match. "For me, I’m a competitor, so I’m always going to compete regardless of what’s happening off the court. I know her heart, and it was all good. I don’t feel any type [of way]. We’re cool."

The two-time Grand Slam champion spoke afterwards on the victory. "I had to play really well," she said. "I fought really hard, and I thought today was obviously a mental and physical effort. I'm really proud of myself to get through this one. I didn't really practise all that much beforehand, honestly, so I'm happy that I still had it a little bit."

It was their 11th meeting, and Gauff is now on top in the head to head. They have locked horns three times this year, and all results have gone the way of the 22-year-old. The changing of the guard with the pair having faced off in the last four WTA Finals tournaments.

It was a mental battle on court to take down a familiar foe, but she managed to do so. "For sure. We both had chances, even in the second set. I had chances to close it out, and she had a lot of chances to win it, which she eventually did. The third set was just, again, about who could stay there and who could go the extra mile. We know each other's games so well, and we know what each other is going to do."

In the last 25 years, only the Williams sisters have amassed more wins at the WTA Finals than Gauff. With eight, including a whole load from her 2024 title run, it is a tournament she is finding a lot of joy from. "I think it's the end of the year, so sometimes, even if you're mentally or physically tired, you're like, 'Just one more push.' It's like the turbo button in a race or whatever, and you press it. You just know that you've got to give it all you've got and, whatever happens, happens."

Her second round robin match is up against Wimbledon winner Linda Noskova, who also got off to a winning start against alternate Marta Kostyuk. After losing to the Czech in Madrid earlier this year, Gauff is hungry for revenge.

"It's been a while since we played on hard courts, or even a while since we played in general," she admitted. "The last time was Madrid, I think. She's a tough opponent. She won Wimbledon, she has a big serve, big groundstrokes and can do a lot of things well. I think it's going to be another tough match, but there are no easy matches here in this format. I think that's what makes it special: every match is a final."