Elina Svitolina reached her first WTA 1000 final since 2018 after beating third-seeded American Coco Gauff 6-4, 6-7 (13/15), 6-4 in a marathon at the Dubai Championships on Friday.
Svitolina once again defeated Gauff in a rematch of the Australian Open quarter-finals last month, this time setting up a final showdown with another American, Jessica Pegula, after a grueling three-hour showdown.
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Earlier, on Center Court, Pegula maintained her perfect record against Amanda Anisimova, winning the All-American battle 1-6, 6-4, 6-3 to reach the Dubai final for the first time.
Svitolina is in good form so far this season, with a record of 15 wins and 2 losses. The Ukrainian seventh seed won the title in Auckland, reached the Australian Open semi-finals and is now in her third career final in Dubai.
Earlier this month, she returned to the top 10 in the world rankings for the first time since 2021 and for the first time as a mother.
“Honestly, I had nothing to say after that match,” said the two-time Dubai champion, who needed six match points to end the match.
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“In a way, I was really pushing myself to get back up like there was no tomorrow. To be here in the final and have the chance to lift that beautiful trophy again is really, really special.”
Gauff once again had problems with her serve and ended the match with 12 double faults.
“For six months I’ve been doing everything you wanted [and I haven’t gotten] Much better,” Gauff said, looking at her box.
The 21-year-old hired biomechanics coach Gavin MacMillan to help her redesign her serve and address issues with her serve, but Gauff still struggled with her serve and committed 16 double faults in the third round earlier this week.
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Still, the two-time Grand Slam champion found a way to save four match points in the second-set tiebreaker to force Svitolina into the decider.
Gauff broke serve early in the deciding set, but Svitolina was hot on her heels. The game reached the final minute, and it was Gauff’s several untimely forehand shots that gave Svitolina a thrilling victory in the final game.
“Coca is a great fighter and I’m looking forward to her coming back in the ring, she’s won a lot of big fights, big games. I have to keep fighting, keep pushing. I’m very happy with this fight and very happy with today’s win,” Svitolina said.
-“Happy” Pegula-
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In the Australian Open quarterfinals, Pegula fought back from a set and a break to claim her fifth victory in as many meetings with Anisimova.
Pegula has reached at least the semifinals in each of her past seven tournaments since the 2025 U.S. Open, and she has now reached her 21st career final and eighth at the WTA 1000 level.
“At the beginning of the third quarter, the score was tied at 1, and I looked at my coach and said, ‘I’m glad I’m still here,'” said Pegula, who turns 32 on Monday.
“It would be a great birthday present (if I win the title). I won’t mention how old I am. I came here thinking I can play well in this situation and I give myself a chance to try to win the title tomorrow.”
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This was the second national semifinal in the history of the tournament, and Anisimova got off to a better start, leading 3-0 and expanding her lead in less than 30 minutes to win the first set.
Anisimova broke serve early in the second set, but Pegula finally began to find her game, and after a series of service breaks, the fourth seed finally sealed the victory, leveling the match and forcing a decider.
Pegula reversed the momentum and opened the scoring in the deciding set, opening a 4-1 gap with a perfect lob. That was all she needed to prevail within two hours and remain undefeated against Anisimova.
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