Overview
- Pegula won 6-3, 6-7 (4), 6-2 in just over two hours to open round‑robin play in Riyadh.
- Gauff’s serve unraveled with 17 double faults and nine service games lost in a match featuring 14 total breaks and 58 unforced errors for her to Pegula’s 32.
- After dropping a second‑set tiebreak, Pegula reset and controlled the decider, continuing a stretch in which nine of her last 11 matches have gone three sets.
- The result marks Pegula’s second top‑five win of 2025 and the first defeat of a defending WTA Finals champion in round‑robin play since 2018.
- Pegula next faces Aryna Sabalenka and Gauff meets Jasmine Paolini, with both still in contention to advance after Sabalenka beat Paolini in her opener.