Gauff Wins Cincinnati, Beats Pegula 6-3, 6-4

Gauff wins Cincinnati a second time, and she did not need drama to do it. Coco Gauff beat Jessica Pegula 6-3, 6-4 on Sunday at the Lindner Family Tennis Center, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported, in the first all-American women's final here since 1970. The match lasted 1 hour and 14 minutes. Gauff is 22. The Rookwood Cup is hers again. Pegula, the world No. 3, never found a clean hold pattern after Gauff won the first five games.

The Gauff vs Pegula preview sold a 10th meeting and a 5-4 series for Pegula. Sunday flipped the week. Gauff converted 5 of 6 break points, won 65 percent of first-serve points to Pegula's 47, and logged 32 receiving points to 19, the Enquirer tracked. She is the third player since the WTA arrived in Mason in 2004 to win Cincinnati more than once, with Serena Williams (2014, 2015) and Victoria Azarenka (2013, 2020). It is her fourth WTA 1000 title and her 12th WTA title, her first since she beat Pegula in Wuhan in 2025.

Gauff wins Cincinnati: first five games, then 6-4

Gauff jumped from the jump. She won the first five games and took the opener 6-3, converting 3 of 4 break points, the Enquirer wrote, while Pegula ran east and west along the baseline. Gauff picked her spots at net and ended the short-range points. Pegula finally showed in the second. She trailed 5-2, held, then broke to 5-4. That was the only breath. Gauff ripped four straight receiving points and broke for the title, 6-4.

This was the 10th singles meeting between a former doubles tandem that won three WTA 1000 titles together. Pegula did not dress it up on court. "It was not fun to play against," she said as she congratulated Gauff, per the Enquirer. Gauff had already won their most recent match, a Wimbledon quarterfinal, and their only previous final. She is the only player to reach three WTA 1000 finals this season.

12 straight sets, and a US Open runway

The week was a hammer after one early dent. Gauff won 12 consecutive sets after falling behind 1-0 in the Round of 64 against Liudmila Samsonova on Aug. 16, the Enquirer counted, and she won 73 of 105 games in that stretch. Saturday's 6-4, 6-1 over Sara Bejlek was the last of those sets before Sunday. Pegula had to go three against Iga Swiatek in the other semifinal. Gauff had the shorter Saturday and the cleaner tape.

The WTA had listed $1,085,200 for the champion. Rankings stay put, No. 3 and No. 4. The Race to the WTA Finals does not. The Enquirer projected Gauff into the top 5 of that board heading into New York, with Pegula projected to No. 4 after the loss. Three years ago Gauff was the first teenager to win Cincinnati since 1968. Sunday she became a two-time champion in the same building, in straight sets, against the other American.

Gauff wins Cincinnati FAQ

What was the Coco Gauff vs Jessica Pegula score? Gauff won 6-3, 6-4 in 1 hour and 14 minutes, per the Cincinnati Enquirer. She won the first five games and closed it by breaking from 5-4 in the second.

How many Cincinnati titles does Coco Gauff have? Two. The Enquirer said she is the third player since 2004 to win multiple titles here, after Serena Williams and Victoria Azarenka. It is her 12th WTA title and her fourth WTA 1000.

Was this the first all-American Cincinnati women's final in 56 years? Yes. The last one was 1970, when Rosie Casals beat Nancy Richey. Pegula said Gauff was not fun to play against.