Jessica Pegula pokes fun at herself after yet another three-set win to set up Wuhan Open final against Coco Gauff

Jessica Pegula poked fun at herself after defeating reigning World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka to reach the final of the 2025 Wuhan Open. Pegula is set to clash against compatriot Coco Gauff in the final of the prestigious WTA 1000 hardcourt event.

On Saturday, October 11, the World No. 6 locked horns with three-time defending Wuhan Open champion Aryna Sabalenka, who had never lost a match at the tournament. The Belarusian dominated the American to win the first set 6-2. However, the latter came roaring back into the contest and took the second and third sets 6-4 and 7-6(2) respectively to oust the defending champion.

Following her hard-fought win over the reigning No. 1, Jessica Pegula took to her Instagram and shared a post consisting of some pictures from her semifinal victory. Through the written caption, the 31-year-old took a playful dig at herself over her inability to register a straight-set win so far at the 2025 Wuhan Open, with all four of the American's matches having gone the distance.

"How do you play 2 sets? Asking for a friend. See you guys in the final 🫶🏼," Pegula captioned her post.

Meanwhile, Coco Gauff, Pegula's final opponent in Wuhan, has registered straight-set wins in all of her matches so far at the tournament.

Coco Gauff in red-hot form at Wuhan Open but trails Jessica Pegula in WTA Tour-level head-to-head

Jessica Pegula (left) and Coco Gauff (right) at the 2024 WTA Finals (Source: Getty)

Coco Gauff, the third seed in Wuhan, began her campaign at the WTA 1000 event with a 6-1, 6-0 demolition of Moyuka Uchijima in the second round. Things continued in similar vein for the American across the third and fourth rounds, as she made short work of veterans Zhang Shuai and Laura Siegemund as well.

The 21-year-old was somewhat tested in the semis by No. 7 seed Jasmine Paolini, who had earlier ousted Iga Swiatek from the tournament, but still managed to come out on top with a 6-4, 6-3 win. However, Gauff would be wise to be wary of Jessica Pegula heading into the all-American final at this year's Wuhan Open.

The WTA stars have faced each other on six previous occasions, with four of those matches going Pegula's way. Their most recent meeting though, a Round Robin phase clash at the 2024 WTA Finals, went Gauff's way. The 2025 Wuhan Open marks the first tournament where the Americans will face each other in a tour-level final.