"It's my biggest final ever": Jessica Pegula reacts to major achievement after defeating Coco Gauff at 2023 WTA Finals

Jessica Pegula shared her thoughts on reaching the final at the 2023 WTA Finals in Cancun after she defeated her doubles partner Coco Gauff to achieve this major milestone.

Pegula pulled off a decisive win against Gauff 6-2, 6-1, at the 2023 WTA Finals on Saturday, November 4, to secure her spot in the final. Prior to this, the World No. 5 won all three of her Group Stage matches against Elena Rybakina, top seed Aryna Sabalenka, and Maria Sakkari.

This comes after the 29-year-old lost all three of her matches at the 2022 WTA Finals in Fort Worth, Texas. After her win against Gauff, Pegula opened up on what she had done differently this time around.

"I managed to get my act together at the end of the year. I’ve done a good job of resetting coming here. It’s not fun leaving [Fort Worth] 0-6. I’m glad I’ve turned the tables. I found a way to make it work. I’m feeling confident going into the finals," she said.

Despite her confidence, Pegula has admitted that will not be the "favorite" for the title as her opponent will be the winner of the semi-final battle between World No. 1 Sabalenka and World No. 2 Iga Swiatek. Their match had only just started yesterday when it was suspended due to rain and is expected to resume later today.

"No," Pegula said, "I don’t think I consider myself the favorite, considering the two girls [Sabalenka and Swiatek] are ranked ahead of me. I’ll probably be considered the underdog, even though I’m playing great tennis."

Pegula also revealed that the final will be the "biggest" of her career so far and could act as a springboard for a successful season in 2024.

"It’s probably my biggest final ever. It’s going to give me a lot of confidence going into next year," she continued.

Gauff and Pegula also qualified for the WTA Finals in doubles as the top seeds, and their third Group Stage match (which is against Laura Siegemund and Vera Zvonareva) is currently suspended. If they win the clash in straight sets, or in three sets with three games won in the second set, they will qualify for the semi-finals to take on Storm Hunter and Elise Mertens. 

After their singles match against each other, Gauff revealed what Pegula did well in order to take the win.

"She was playing well with the wind -- and I wasn’t. I mean we both had the same circumstances. She just handled them better than I did," the 19-year-old said.