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Coco Gauff beat Jessica Pegula 6-4, 7-5 on Sunday, to secure the third WTA 1000 title of her career in an all-American showdown at the Wuhan Open.
The third-seeded Gauff claimed the title without losing a set after a 1-hour and 42-minute contest in the central Chinese city.
In their first final against each other as former doubles partners, Gauff overcame several deficits in the second set, improving her head-to-head record against Pegula to 3-4.
At just 21 years old, she made history by becoming the first player in the Open Era to win her first nine finals on hard courts.
The two players took different paths to reach the final, with Gauff sailing through her matches, dropping only 16 games, while Pegula fought through three-setters in all eight of her previous contests.
Gauff started strong, winning the first six points of the match and establishing a 3-0 lead. Pegula rebounded from her sluggish start and turned aggressive in game seven, breaking serve with a powerful backhand winner to level the match at 4-4.
Though it seemed the sixth seed had shifted the momentum in her favour, Gauff seized a slight opportunity two games later to break serve and clinch the first set in 47 minutes.
Having previously come back from 2-5 down in her final set against world number one Aryna Sabalenka the day prior, Pegula was primed for another comeback.
Gauff has been adjusting her serve with biomechanics expert Gavin MacMillan since late August. Despite improvements since MacMillan joined her team, her serve remains susceptible to fluctuations in high-pressure situations.
The world number three committed six double faults, allowing Pegula to break her twice and take a 3-0 lead, but Gauff steadied her play by breaking back to level the score once again.
Another exchange of breaks followed, with Pegula sneaking ahead with a crafty drop shot before Gauff levelled things up again by winning 10 consecutive points.
Shortly thereafter, Gauff celebrated as a volley from Pegula went wide on match point.
