For only the second time in 13 career tries, 20-year-old US tennis star Coco Gauff defeated former World No. 1 Iga Świątek in straight sets at the 2024 WTA Finals on Tuesday, guaranteeing Gauff a spot in Saturday's semifinals.
No. 3 Gauff clinched the 6-3, 6-4 result in one hour and 48 minutes on Riyadh’s Center Court to join Aryna Sabalenka as the first two players to book tickets to the semifinals.
"I knew going into the match, despite our head-to-head [history], I had a lot of confidence and I felt like I was playing great tennis," Gauff said after the match.
The first and only other time Gauff defeated Świątek was at the 2023 Cincinnati Open, when the pair battled to a 7-6(2), 3-6, 6-4 finish. Gauff went on to win that tournament, just weeks before earning her first Grand Slam championship by winning the 2023 US Open.
Gauff's Tuesday win also guarantees that Sabalenka will finish the calendar year as World No. 1, bolstered by her 2024 US Open win and her strong performances this week.
Semifinals take shape
While Sabalenka and No. 7 Qinwen Zheng both advanced from the Purple Group on Wednesday, ending No. 4 Jasmine Paolini's and No. 5 Elena Rybakina's WTA Finals runs, Gauff and Świątek each have one more group match on the tournament's docket.
Gauff will aim to win the Orange Group outright by defeating No. 8 Barbora Krejčíková on Thursday. As for Krejčíková, she'll be competing for a shot at advancing over Świątek, who will look to defeat alternate Daria Kasatkina to claim the final semifinals spot.
Pegula withdraws with injury
Kasatkina is stepping in at the eleventh hour after Gauff's compatriot, No. 6 Jessica Pegula, withdrew from the competition with a left knee injury on Wednesday.
The 30-year-old Pegula, who was already eliminated from advancing after falling 6-3, 6-3 to Krejčíková on Tuesday, has nursed the injury since before the WTA Finals began.
"What started as a really small issue flared over the last two matches and I just can’t continue tomorrow," Pegula tweeted. "I’m sorry to the fans and tournament. I really had a great week of prep and had high hopes here but it just wasn’t meant to be."
How to watch Coco Gauff at Thursday's WTA Finals
Świątek and Kasatkina will kick off the final group-stage day at the 2024 WTA Finals at 7:30 AM ET, with Gauff taking on Krejčíková at 10 AM ET. Both matches will air live on the Tennis Channel.
The year's final major tennis tournament begins on Saturday when the sport's highest-ranked athletes descend on Riyadh, Saudi Arabia to compete in the 2024 WTA Finals.
Featuring the eight best singles players and eight best doubles teams, Slam winners and Olympic medalists alike will compete for the Billie Jean King and Martina Navratilova trophies before the winter break.
Also up for grabs is a piece of the record $15.25 million prize pool, larger than any Grand Slam purse and a nearly 70% increase over the 2023 pot. Should the champions go undefeated through the tournament, the singles winner will bank $5.155 million, while the top doubles duo will take home $1.125 million.
Eight days of elite tennis action
In both the WTA Finals singles and doubles categories, competitors are split into two groups of four.
Each singles player or doubles pair will play all others in their group for a total of three matches across the first six days. The top two in each group will then compete in the November 8th semifinals, with both finals set for November 9th.
In the singles contest, the Purple Group includes No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, No. 4 Jasmine Paolini, No. 5 Elena Rybakina, and No. 7 Qinwen Zheng, while the Orange Group lists No. 2 Iga Świątek, No. 3 Coco Gauff, No. 6 Jessica Pegula, and No. 8 Barbora Krejčíková.
In both competitions, 25% of the top eight athletes represent the USA. Along with Gauff and Pegula on the singles court, the doubles tournament includes No. 5 US duo Caroline Dolehide and Desirae Krawczyk as well as Nicole Melichar-Martinez and Taylor Townsend in the Nos. 6 and 8 pairs, respectively.
Will Sabalenka play Świątek at the WTA Finals?
A showdown between Sabalenka and 2023 WTA Finals champion Świątek could be the event's blockbuster match. The top-ranked players have yet to square off in a major tournament in 2024 — a year rife with highs and lows for both athletes.
Sabalenka started the WTA season by winning her second Australian Open, then later struggled through a shoulder injury that forced her to withdraw from Wimbledon. She capped the Grand Slam season in style, though, winning her first US Open in September.
As for five-time Grand Slam victor Świątek, 2024 brought the Polish phenom her fourth French Open title. A rockier second half to the season — including a third round and quarterfinal ousting from Wimbledon and the US Open, and a fall from the No. 1 ranking for the first time since November 2023 — motivated Świątek to seek a new coach.
How to watch the 2024 WTA Finals tennis tournament
The 2024 WTA Finals kicks off on Saturday, when US Open winner Sabalenka plays 2024 Olympic gold medalist Zheng at 11 AM ET.
Later, 2023 US Open champ Gauff will take on 2024 US Open runner-up Pegula at 8:45 AM ET on Sunday.
All 2024 WTA Finals matches will be broadcast live on the Tennis Channel.
For the second year in a row, there will be a US tennis player facing Aryna Sabalenka in the final of the US Open, after Jessica Pegula wrapped up the best week of her career.
Having reached the quarterfinals in all four major tournaments, Pegula finally broke through to her first Slam semifinal and then final this week with wins over Iga Swiatek and Karolina Muchova.
A career-best run
Currently ranked No. 6 in the world, Pegula has played some of the best tennis of her career recently, reaching the quarterfinal of the Australian Open in 2021-23, and the quarterfinal of the French Open in 2022, and the US Open in 2023.
But Wednesday's straight-set win over World No. 1 Swiatek proved to be her first time breaking 'the quarterfinal curse,' with the hope of carrying the momentum all the way to the final.
Pegula had to battle back from a slow first set in her semifinal on Thursday, as Muchova took an early 6-1 lead and then a 3-0 advantage in the second set.
"I came out flat, but she was playing unbelievable," Pegula said after the match. "She made me look like a beginner. I was about to burst into tears because it was embarrassing. She was destroying me." But the 30-year-old battled back to take the second set 6-4 and rolled to a 6-2 win in the deciding third set, continuing her impressive 15-1 record since the Paris Olympics.
"I was able to find a way, find some adrenaline, find my legs," Pegula said. "At the end of the second set into the third set, I started to play how I wanted to play. It took a while but I don't know how I turned that around honestly."
Finishing the job
Pegula will face World No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka, who defeated her in Cincinnati, and who advanced past Emma Navarro in straight sets on Thursday. Sabalenka has only dropped one set this US Open, after not participating in the Olympics. The Belarusian will be looking for her second-ever Grand Slam title after coming up just short against Coco Gauff in New York in 2023.
"Hopefully I can get some revenge out here," said Pegula.
In her first-ever Grand Slam quarterfinal victory, No. 6-seed Jessica Pegula knocked No. 1 Iga Świątek out of the 2024 US Open in straight sets Wednesday night.
Now in uncharted territory, the US tennis star will aim at extending her historic run in tonight's semifinal against unseeded Czech opponent, Karolina Muchová.
Quarterfinal victory proved Pegula's dominance
The 30-year-old Pegula, who has yet to drop a set all tournament, took control of yesterday's match immediately, winning the first game on Świątek's serve — the five-time Grand Slam winner's first broken serve in 26 games.
Świątek, the 2022 US Open champion, committed 18 unforced errors in the first set. Visibly frustrated with her performance, the Polish phenom retreated to the locker room to regroup — a move that ultimately proved unsuccessful in the wake of Pegula's relentless 6-2, 6-4 victory.
After six previous Grand Slam quarterfinal attempts, Pegula celebrated, telling the crowd post-match that "there have been so many freaking times, and I just kept losing.... So thank God I was able to do it. And finally — finally! — I can say, 'Semifinalist.'"
Two US contenders will feature in tonight's semis
Pegula isn't the only contender making her Grand Slam semifinal debut tonight. Before Pegula takes the court, fellow US player No. 13 Emma Navarro will take on reigning back-to-back Australian Open champion No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka.
Sabalenka, who fell to US star Coco Gauff in last year's US Open, hopes for better luck against Navarro — the player who ousted the No. 3 defending champ last weekend.
If both Pegula and Navarro emerge victorious, Saturday's US Open final would be the first contested by two US athletes since Sloane Stephens defeated Madison Keys for the 2017 title. It would also pit two New York locals against each other on their home Grand Slam court: Pegula hails from Buffalo, NY, while Navarro was born in NYC.
How to watch the 2024 US Open semifinals
Navarro and Sabalenka will kick off tonight's Grand Slam action at 7 PM ET, with Pegula's match against Muchová immediately following. Both semis will air on ESPN.
The tennis season’s final Grand Slam gets underway today, when the US Open takes the hardcourt in Queens, New York. Topping last year’s record-setting prize pool by $10 million, this year’s $75 million purse means the singles champion will walk away with $3.6 million.
Led by Gauff, US women chase history
With 21 US women in this year's draw — including five ranked in the WTA’s Top 15 — domestic fans are eyeing another trophy after world No. 3 Coco Gauff became the first US teen since 1999 to win the Slam last year. This time around, Gauff is hunting more history: If she repeats, she’ll become the first back-to-back US title-winner since Serena Williams’s 2012-14 three-peat.
That said, Gauff's recent early exits from Wimbledon, the Olympics, and last week’s Cincinnati Open have placed other stars in the US Open spotlight.
A US player has yet to feature in a Grand Slam final in 2024, and contenders like world No. 6 Jessica Pegula, No. 11 Danielle Collins, and No. 14 Madison Keys are all looking to right that ship.
Top stars aim to avoid more 2024 upsets
In a season rife with upsets — from No. 26 Leylah Annie Fernandez beating No. 4 Elena Rybakina in Cincinnati to No. 24 Donna Vekić ousting Gauff at the Olympics — this Slam is anyone’s to take.
After missing Wimbledon and the Olympics, reigning Australian Open champ No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka is this year's favorite after falling to Gauff in the 2023 final, though No. 1 Iga Świątek could pose a problem in Sabalenka's hunt. The Polish phenom already knows how to win this Slam, having taken the 2022 US Open trophy. If victorious again, the 23-year-old will have six major titles to her name.
Meanwhile, Kazakhstan's No. 4 Elena Rybakina will aim to break her US Open curse of falling by the Round of 32, but a season wracked with illness, early exits, and personnel trouble could set her off course.
The field could also see a fresh face like Buffalo product Pegula or China’s 2024 Olympic gold medalist No. 7 Qinwen Zheng lifting hardware at Arthur Ashe next month.
How to watch the US Open
The 2024 US Open's main draw kicks off today at 11 AM ET, with live coverage across ABC and ESPN networks.
With the Grand Slam calendar nearing its close, stars flocked to this week's Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati to prepare for this year's US Open. Reigning Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka earned the win at the WTA 1000 event, taking down US player Jessica Pegula 6-3, 7-5 on Monday.
Fatigue impacts returning Olympic tennis players
With a uniquely crowded schedule this summer, partially due to the Paris Olympics, players entered this week with varying levels of fitness and fatigue.
China's newly crowned Olympic gold medalist Qinwen Zheng fell in the Round of 16 and Croatian silver medalist Donna Vekic failed to advance out of the Round of 64. Bronze medalist Iga Świątek reached the semifinals before losing to Sabalenka, while Pegula made this week's final match after competing for the US in Paris.
Fellow Team USA Olympians Coco Gauff and Emma Navarro fell in Cincinnati's Round of 32 and Round of 64, respectively.
Rest aided Sabalenka's Cincinnati Open win
On the other hand, Sabalenka missed Wimbledon due to a shoulder injury and, as a Belarusian athlete, did not participate in the Olympics. The world No. 3-ranked player returned to the hardcourt looking as sharp as she did at the beginning of the year, ultimately earning Monday's victory.
"This trophy means a lot, it is a really big achievement, especially coming after injury, with this fear of getting injured again," Sabalenka told press in Cincinnati. "My team did everything they could to make sure I felt as good as I can and I am proud of myself I was able to handle all of those emotions."
Tennis stars shift focus to US Open
The 26-year-old, who hit her first No. 1 ranking in September 2023 before relinquishing the title back to Świątek, will be hunting her third Grand Slam title and first at the US Open when play begins at the New York tournament next week. Sabalenka finished the 2023 US Open as the runner-up to Gauff, who earned her first major tournament title in three sets last September.
With a short turnaround and major surface change from the Paris Games, form and fitness could play a major role at this year's US Open. A number of athletes declined to participate in the Olympics in order to focus on the year's final Slam, and all eyes will be on Queens next week to see if those decisions paid off.
A number of women’s sports stars have made this year’s Forbes “30 Under 30” list, including Sophia Smith and Angel Reese.
Forbes features 30 people who are changing the game in sports, including Smith, who helped lead the U.S. women’s national team in the 2023 World Cup. Despite a disappointing finish at the tournament, the 23-year-old forward represents the future of the national team, and she also won the NWSL Golden Boot with 11 goals for the Portland Thorns.
Reese led the LSU basketball team to its first national title in April 2023. The Most Outstanding Player of the 2023 Final Four, the 21-year-old’s national profile skyrocketed, and she has endorsement deals with Reebok, Coach and more. While Reese is off to a rocky start to the new season, including an unexplained four-game absence, she remains among the biggest stars in the college game.
Other honorees from the world of women’s sports include:
- Napheesa Collier, 27, Minnesota Lynx forward
- Jessica Pegula, 29, tennis player
- Kate Douglass, 22, Team USA swimmer
- Sha’Carri Richardson, Team USA sprinter
- Olivia Dunne, 21, LSU gymnast
- Diana Flores, 26, flag football quarterback
- Maddie Musselman, 25, Team USA water polo player
Several more names included on the list come from the business side of women’s sports, including Robyn Brown, who is the senior manager of brand and content strategy for the Phoenix Mercury, and Natalie White, who founded women’s basketball shoe brand Moolah Kicks.
Jessica Pegula set the record straight after getting eliminated from the US Open singles tournament on Monday.
The No. 3-ranked player lost in straight sets to fellow American and World No. 17 Madison Keys in the Round of 16. During her post-match press conference, Pegula responded directly to a journalist, refuting a tweet by The Tennis Podcast that she had left the court crying.
“Were you guys the ones that tweeted that I cried when I walked off the court?” she asked. “Someone said I walked off the court in tears. I most definitely was not crying.
“It just sounded really sad and I was like, ‘I definitely wasn’t crying. I just got waxed in like an hour. I gotta go play dubs [doubles] in an hour.’”
Jessica Pegula asks a journalist if he tweeted she was crying after loss to Madison Keys:
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) September 5, 2023
“Were you guys the ones that tweeted that I cried when I walked off the court?”
Silence.
“I’m pretty sure it was you guys. I definitely wasn’t crying. I just got waxed in like an hour” 😂 pic.twitter.com/wSbjgcvgIf
Later on Monday, The Tennis Podcast tweeted a clarification, saying it had erred in assuming Pegula was crying when she touched her eye.
DL: Jessica Pegula clarified to us just now that she was not crying as she left the court. I was on BBC commentary at the time, saw her touch her eye as she left and also thought she was wiping a tear away, but it was just something in her eye. Wanted to set that straight. https://t.co/JuxkdvRI1E
— The Tennis Podcast (@TennisPodcast) September 4, 2023
Not longer after the loss to Keys, Pegula returned to Arthur Ashe Stadium with doubles partner Coco Gauff. The Americans defeated Marta Kostyuk and Elena-Gabriela Ruse in straight sets to advance to the women’s doubles quarterfinals.
Pegula will also play in the mixed doubles quarterfinal on Tuesday with partner Austin Krajicek as the top-ranked mixed doubles team.
When Jessica Pegula won the Canadian Open over Liudmila Samsonova on Sunday night, she also had to overcome a recent foe: “Cotton-Eye Joe.”
In Saturday’s semifinal win against world No. 1 Iga Swiatek, Pegula played through the song, which broke out mid-point in a set she eventually lost. She overcame the lost set to win the match, 6-2, 6-7(4), 6-4, and then beat Samsonova in straight sets to take the title in Montreal.
She would hear “Cotton-Eye Joe” once again after that win, thanks to a bit of humor from whoever controls the in-stadium speakers.
“I lost a lot of points consecutively after ‘Cotton-Eye Joe’ came on [in the semifinals], so I’m glad I got over the ‘Cotton-Eye Joe’ jinx or whatever you want to call it,” Pegula said after her title win. “It was almost my downfall yesterday, but not anymore.”
The victory ended an impressive run for Pegula, who also toppled Coco Gauff in the quarterfinals. She became the first American to win the event since Serena Williams in 2013.
“I feel like I did enough to where I could just play freely,” she said. “It was a good day. … Winning a week like this week makes it all worth it and makes you want to keep going for more. I’ll be right back at it tomorrow in Cincinnati.”
Afterward, Pegula took to Instagram, where she dedicated her win to her dog Dex, who passed away earlier this summer.
“From two weeks ago crying on my couch for days wondering how the hell I was going to start this swing — to this week — this one’s for you Dex, thanks for looking out for me down here,” she wrote.
Jessica Pegula stunned world No. 1 Iga Świątek in the semifinals of the Canadian Open on Saturday, beating the Polish star, 6-2 6-7(4) 6-4.
Amid the drama, however, was a moment of mass confusion at center court: As Swiatek reached for the ball, in the second set tiebreak, the opening notes to “Cotton-Eyed Joe” played through the sound system. The fans gasped.
I mean what the 😂 https://t.co/EWtqqwauLQ
— Jessie Pegula (@JPegula) August 12, 2023
“I just thought it was funny,” Pegula told reporters afterward. “I’ve never had that happen, let alone with ‘Cotton-Eye Joe.’ I was like: ‘Is this really happening right now?’ Of all the songs. It was just like: ‘What is going on?’
Pegula wore a look of astonishment as the referee announced the point would need to be replayed.
“It was a bummer because I hit a really good lob and she barely got it, and I had a really good play on the ball, and she was kind of out of position from the lob that I hit,” Pegula said.
Świątek went on to win the next 12 points and leveled the match at one set each. But Pegula rallied and won 16 of the last 19 points of the match to seal the victory – Pegula’s send over Świątek this year.
Pegula will play the winner of the match between Elena Rybakina or Liudmila Samsonova in the final Sunday evening. She would be the first American winner of the tournament since Serena Williams in 2013.
This time, hopefully, the match won’t be interrupted by a horrifyingly catchy country folk dance ballad from the 19th century.