At the pivotal juncture of 4-all in Sunday’s opening set, Coco Gauff hit three of her four aces in a single game. Down 5-3 in the second set, Gauff ran off 10 straight points on the way to a 6-4, 7-5 victory over Jessica Pegula.

Gauff, your Dongfeng Voyah · Wuhan Open champion, is the consummate closer. She has played in nine Hologic WTA Tour hard-court finals — and won them all. No one else in the history of women’s tennis has triumphed in her first nine hard-court finals.

“Oh, wow,” Gauff said on hearing that statistic, then burst into laughter during a conversation with wtatennis.com. “Your answer is probably just as good as mine. I don’t know, honestly. I think in finals, there’s something in you that wants to just go, because I made it this far, and I want to hold the trophy.

“On hard courts, that’s where I feel the most comfortable, on the courts I grew up playing on. I think I’ve gotten lucky in some matches, others I just felt good that day.”

Mixing speeds and spins with a variety of slices like a crafty veteran pitcher, the 21-year-old American kept the ball in play and consistently prevailed in the longer rallies. The weary Pegula, who thrives on an opponent’s pace, had little to work with.

This was the 31-year-old’s 10th match in 14 days. Coming into the final, Pegula had played eight consecutive three-set matches. Including Beijing, her two-week total was a staggering 28 sets. Friendly suggestion: Don’t try this at home.

Gauff, who lost in WTA 1000 finals earlier this year on the clay in Madrid and Rome, collected her third career 1000 title. She’s the third-youngest to do that in the 16-year history of the format, after Iga Swiatek and Caroline Wozniacki.

For the record, Gauff is a resplendent 22-3 in China.

“I think it’s a combination of the timing of the season, knowing that you’re so close to the season being over that you’re just like, ‘Whatever happens, happens,’” she said. “And also the conditions here I feel like favor my game. The courts in Beijing were a little bit quicker and then here a little bit slower. In Wuhan the conditions were similar to what I train in in Florida so I felt really comfortable on the court.”

The win underlined what has become an interesting — and hugely successful — pattern. For the third straight year, Gauff is benefiting from a coaching change late in the season.

In the summer of 2023, she hired Brad Gilbert, who worked with Andre Agassi, Andy Roddick and Andy Murray — and won the US Open.
After failing to defend that title in 2024, she hired Matt Daly — and went on to win titles in Beijing and at the WTA Finals in Riyadh.
Days before this year’s US Open, Daly was replaced by mechanics expert Gavin MacMillan — and Gauff has won 12 of 14 matches.

“I feel like I’m constantly trying to evolve and get better,” Gauff said. “It’s not anything against the coaches I worked with — I can still be at the top and want to get better. Sometimes, a new perspective helps. It’s not always about what they say — maybe they’re saying similar things — but maybe the approach is a little bit different and I’m able to receive it better. 

“I’m definitely happy with my team. I don’t want to make changes anymore. I’m really proud of how I’ve managed to turn this part of the season around.”

Further highlights from her interview:

You looked like a crafty baseball pitcher out there, changing speeds and spins … what prompted you to go with that strategy against Jess?

Playing Jess, she’s a really great ball-striker. Honestly, it wasn’t always a part of the plan, but I was just thinking it was the shot I had to do in the moment. She hits the ball so low and flat sometimes I feel the only option is the slice at times. Today was also cooler than the earlier rounds, and the court was playing slow, so I felt like hitting winners and powering through would be pretty hard because the court was just so slow.

Neither of you showed much emotion during the match. At times it was like watching Venus and Serena Williams play each other … How difficult is it to play such a good friend?

It’s definitely difficult playing a friend in the final. It’s ups and downs, for sure. I don’t do it intentionally, but maybe I am a little more chill in the reactions and stuff. Jess is always calm, she doesn’t let out too much. When you play someone that you know, for me, it makes it more fun. Obviously, you want to win for yourself, but if you lose you know you’re losing to someone that you respect, on and off the court. 

Working with Gavin MacMillan, where would you say your serve is right now?

Obviously, it was a big hole in my game, the serve, and it still can get better. But I definitely think it’s been a big improvement since Cincinnati and New York to now. It’s just about trusting the process. Before, I was serving technically wrong and I felt like I didn’t have a solution with it. Now I have a solution, and it’s continuing to trust that when the moments get tight. In a general sense, I changed the way I toss the ball and my motion on the serve. I don’t want to get too specific, but if you look at the before and after, I’m turning a little bit more on my toss. 

What will the next few weeks look like for you?

Just going home [to South Florida] and training, getting ready for Riyadh. It’s the last tournament of the year, and I’m looking forward to it. And then the season’s over.

You’re the defending champion in Riyadh. What are your goals and expectations for the WTA Finals?

I think just taking it match by match. I don’t know when the last time someone’s defended the title [Serena Williams in 2013 and 2014] — it’s a pretty tough title to defend, given that you’re playing the top eight players in the world. I’m just going to go in with no expectations. I just want to make it out of my group. That’s what my goal was last year.