Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula are back together as a doubles team for the first time since the Paris Olympics in 2024, and they opened their Berlin reunion with a win over Anastasia Potapova and Diana Shnaider. The pair, whose biggest title together came at the Miami 1000 in 2023, spoke afterwards about restarting the partnership on grass, Serena Williams' comeback, and the Wimbledon prize-money increase announced last week.
Gauff and Pegula pick up where they left off
Can you each give your thoughts on the match and on being back together as a team?
Gauff said the reunion came together on her initiative. "I hit up Jess asking to play. It's been a while, but I thought we played really well, and I look forward to better matches for sure." Pegula was in the same place: "It was a lot of fun. I told her we were going to run it back this week. It's nice getting some practice out there on the grass, and it was a high-level match against two really good, in-form players."
Both bank court time in a rain-hit grass week
It was the first grass match of the season for both of you. How has your preparation on the surface gone?
This was a first week on grass for each of them, made awkward by several days of rain. "It's been tough with the rain over the last four or five days, but the weather looks like it's clearing up, so it was nice to have a normal grass day in good conditions, a high-level match with a lot of good pressure points," one of them said, adding that most of the real preparation had happened in Germany rather than on a few courts at home. The other framed it as banking hours: getting in extra returns and serves and working on staying aggressive, which matters in general but especially on grass.
Gauff and Pegula would rather have Serena beside them than across the net
Serena Williams is back and playing in Berlin. What do you make of her comeback, and would you want to face her?
Neither was keen on the idea of playing against her. "I would not like to face her. Seeing her on the other side of the net, especially when I'm at the net, would make me a little nervous, but it would be an honour. I'd rather play with her than against her. It's awesome that she wants to come back, she's missed competing, and I saw her talk about wanting her kids to see her play. That's special for her family, so she can do whatever she wants as far as I'm concerned." The other agreed it was good for the sport: "Her comeback was a little short-lived at Queen's, but it'd be cool to see her play here, and I'd rather be on the same side than against her. In doubles it's maybe even scarier, because she has a swing volley coming right at you and I don't have the reflexes to defend that, so I'll probably just run the other way. Whatever time she spends away, she still has that aura, and I'm not sure I want to see it across the net."
Gauff was also asked about a report that Williams had wanted to partner her in Berlin. She shut it down. "I don't know why this rumour is going around that she asked. If Serena asks me, the answer is yes. I saw it online, even Chris Eubanks was texting me about it. So many players have asked, and I don't know who started it, but it certainly wasn't me. If she ever asks, the answer will always be yes."
The pair back the idea of a grass-court 1000
There has never been an official 1000-level event on grass. Do you think the tour needs one?
"Personally I think it would be great, it's just the time," one of them said. "The grass season goes so fast, and most players are going deep at Roland Garros, so it's hard to then turn around and play a balanced 1000. But I think there should be a grass 1000." The other pointed to the surface itself: "I agree, it's the time constraint, and grass is a lot harder to maintain, so I'm not sure how feasible a much bigger draw would be at one site. At every grass event besides Wimbledon you're pretty cramped for court time. But I'd love to see a 1000 on grass."
On court, the pair call it even on tactics
Who gives better tactical advice out there?
"It's pretty even, we never really disagree," one said. "We usually let the server decide, and every once in a while one of us will ask the other what they think, just to get an idea. We play it pretty straight, and then depending on how it's going we problem-solve together." The other said it depends on the partner: with some she lets them take control, with others she is more vocal.
Gauff and Pegula welcome the Wimbledon rise but keep pushing on revenue share
You've both been involved in player efforts for a bigger share from the Slams. Wimbledon announced its prize money last week, a 20 percent increase, but not the revenue percentage players have asked for. What do you make of it, and what are the next steps?
"Seeing the 20 percent is great, but as far as our mission, the player-contribution part, we still haven't really talked it through with Wimbledon, and that percentage of revenue needs to be higher," one of them said. "To see that it was higher 10 years ago is a crazy stat, and that's what I keep coming back to. There has to be a better way to monetise the percentage of revenue for the people who bring value to the sport, and I don't see that happening yet with this response. What they did is still a big step, we appreciate the Slams and they're what we want to win, but a lot of other sports have gone to that model because it's the most fair and transparent for the athletes. Hopefully we get there." The other called the numbers a sign of progress but said more of the standards behind the players' push still need to be met.
Eyes on Los Angeles for more doubles
Will you play doubles at Wimbledon, and would you consider it at the LA Olympics?
There were no Wimbledon doubles plans: "I'm not signed up for doubles at Wimbledon." The Olympics was a different matter. "If my captain picks me, I'll play doubles. The Olympics is maybe the one event where you push to play all three and give yourself as many chances at a medal. It's an honour to play any way I can to try to win one. A lot depends on the rankings and who qualifies, and it comes down to the captain's call on who's playing well and has the best chance, but you can never turn that down."