Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula were officially confirmed as the first doubles team to qualify for the 2023 WTA Finals in Cancun.
Gauff and Pegula have both enjoyed plenty of success on the singles court, with Gauff now enjoying life as a Grand Slam champion, while Pegula is a late bloomer who turned herself into a regular Top-10 player in singles.
As much as the two are some of the most consistent singles players on tour, Gauff and Pegula have struck up an excellent partnership in doubles over the last couple of seasons. They secured their qualification to the WTA Finals courtesy of title wins in Miami and Doha, and they even rallied to two finals in Madrid and Rome on the clay.
Gauff and Pegula compliment each other very well on a doubles court. Gauff has the safer and more versatile hands in the forecourt, while Pegula plays to her strengths in terms of her consistency of ball-striking from on top of the baseline. Those two qualities and understanding of each other's games make them the team they have become.
The real, lasting question is just how far these two players can take their partnership and, essentially, how seriously they want to take the doubles. Obviously, winning in singles comes first and foremost, but Gauff and Pegula will still feel they could take advantage of great success at the majors in doubles.
We've seen examples in the past of two singles players enjoying the rhythm, additional practice and the greater work on their volleys that doubles gives them, but the schedule on tour is fairly packed, and maintaining doubles sometimes can come at a cost.
In the short-term, both these stars will have one eye on the WTA Finals to cap off a great season, but hopefully, in the long-term, Gauff and Pegula can continue to light up a doubles court and bring even more eyes on the doubles.
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