Jessica Pegula and Coco Gauff were born a decade apart, which does not really matter while playing tennis together but clearly creates a barrier when the topic is TikTok.
Jessica Pegula and Coco Gauff are entering in WTA Finals
Gauff stated, “We don’t really notice the age gap unless certain discussions come up. “There is obviously a generation gap.” Pegula made light of the situation by saying, “She keeps me youthful.”
The two Americans are competing in their first WTA Finals in singles and doubles this week. The 28-year-old Pegula is ranked No. 3 in the singles rankings, while the 18-year-old Gauff is ranked No. 4.
Since Serena and Venus Williams were able to do so in 2009, no other doubles team has competed in the singles event at the season-ending tournament for the top women’s tennis players (Serena beat Venus in the singles final that year).
The tournament started on Monday on the temporary indoor hard court at Dickies Arena, and Pegula, who is from New York but now resides in Florida, was prepared for a full day of labour. Her round-robin singles match against Maria Sakkari ended in a loss of 7-6 (6), 7-6 (4), and she was then slated to team up with Floridan Gauff to play doubles against the Chinese team of Xu Yifan and Yang Zhaoxuan to finish the first day.
Gauff and Pegula collaborated for a brief period in 2021, going 0-2, before truly excelling in doubles in 2022, winning three championships and placing second at the French Open in June. Gauff, who was ranked No. 1 in the doubles rankings in August, is now ranked No. 2, one position above Pegula.
When Gauff introduces social media jargon into the conversation, it is far worse than when the youngsters are comfortable with one another on the court and “irl,” as they say — “in real life,” for the uninitiated.