Top Seeds Gauff & Pegula Learn Their Australian Open Doubles Draw

| by Nurein Ahmed

Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula, who are singles contestants at the 2024 Australian Open, will also team up to play in the doubles tournament.

The American pair already know their singles draw, which was released on Thursday, January 11th. Gauff, the third seed, will face Slovakia's Anna Karolina Schmiedlova on Monday, while Pegula, seeded at number five, will open up against Canadian qualifier Rebecca Marino on Tuesday.

The doubles draw has now been confirmed, with Gauff and Pegula joining forces as the top-seeded duo in the field. They will confront the French pair of Clara Burel and Diane Parry in the first round. It is a tough draw for the Americans, who look to go one better than last year.

Gauff and Pegula lost in the semifinal stage at last year's Australian Open doubles tournament, and this could be the last time they will partner at the Melbourne Slam. There were rumors about a possible split, but those were quashed aside after confirmation of their reunion.

Gauff Targets Olympics Medal In 2024 With Aim To Play All Three Events
Gauff Targets Olympics Medal In 2024 With Aim To Play All Three Events

They have been candid about their long-term future as a doubles team, with Pegula turning 30 this year and will mostly channel her focus in singles. They are projected to meet fourth-seed Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe, one of the teams that defeated them at the 2023 WTA Finals, in the semifinals.

Gauff and Pegula haven't decided to dissolve their team and are expected to play doubles together in the first half of the season until the Paris Olympics. They will also be determined to win a Grand Slam as a pair, having come close at the 2022 Roland Garros, where they were runner-ups.

Overall, they have won five doubles titles together, all on hard courts. Last season, they triumphed in Doha and Miami and lost back-to-back finals in Madrid and Rome during the clay swing.

They were co-ranked as the World No. 1 doubles team last September but did not cement their spot for long and are currently sitting in third place in the WTA doubles rankings.

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