Pakistan, Nov. 10 -- Coco Gauff defeated fellow American Jessica Pegula 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-2 in her first match of the 2026 WTA Finals on Sunday.

Competing in Group 1 of the eight-woman field's round-robin draw, Gauff improved to 6-5 in her career against Pegula after two hours, 39 minutes at Indian Wells Tennis Garden. "I was having a lot of fun today," the 22-year-old No. 4 seed said after the match, joking she left bits of rubber from her shoes on court. "I had a match point in the second (set) and I didn't get too down on myself.I think today, the key was just trying to be aggressive, but I also had to run a lot."

Gauff, who won the WTA Finals in 2024 and was playing her first match in over a month, held serve from 0-40 down at 4-4 in ...