Coco Gauff battled to a three-set victory over fellow American Jessica Pegula as she made a winning start to the WTA Finals.
Gauff, the 2024 champion, demonstrated resilience and superb athleticism to overcome 2023 runner-up Pegula 6-4 6-7 (5-7) 6-2 at Indian Wells in California.
Gauff – at 22, the youngest player to appear at five consecutive WTA Finals since Martina Hingis in 2000 – last competed at the China Open in early October.
“I’m really proud of myself for this one,” she said.
“To play a tournament like this with no preparation is something I’ve never done in my career, but I’m just really happy to get through.
“It was a tough match. I was having a lot of fun.”
Gauff has won only one title in 2026, when she beat Pegula in the Cincinnati Open final in August.
Pegula, 32, has won titles in Dubai and Charleston and reached the semi-finals of the Australian Open and US Open.
She is only four wins behind Rybakina’s tour-leading 54 this season, despite playing only one match since the US Open ended in September.
“Jess is an incredible player. We always go back and forth,” Gauff said.
“Today the key was just trying to be aggressive, but I also had to run a lot.
“My shoes are pretty torn up now. Some of my shoes are somewhere on the court there. So I’ll have to change shoes tomorrow.”