Coco Gauff is set to compete for a doubles championship on Wednesday night after an early defeat in the singles tournament at the Canadian Open. Despite her disappointing fourth-round loss to Victoria Mboko, Gauff will take to the court alongside partner McCartney Kessler in the doubles final, aiming to secure another trophy.
The journey to the doubles final has demanded resilience from the American duo, as they have had to prevail in final set tiebreaks in their last three matches, including an intense semifinal victory over Olga Danilovic and Su-wei Hsieh where they came back after dropping the first set. This potential title represents an important opportunity for Gauff to regain momentum after ongoing struggles in her singles performance this season.
Recent Singles Challenges Affecting Gauff’s Form
Since her breakthrough triumph at the French Open in May 2024, Gauff’s singles results have been less consistent. A difficult grass-court season featured early round eliminations in both Berlin and Wimbledon, culminating with the recent loss to Mboko in Canada. A specific area of concern for Gauff has been her serving, as she committed 42 double faults over three singles matches at the tournament.
Gauff has openly discussed the disparity between her serving in singles and doubles. She remarked,
“My doubles yesterday, I hit zero double faults,”
and added,
“I just would like to serve how I do in doubles in singles.”
She also highlighted the psychological differences between the two formats, explaining,
“You know, it’s weird, I feel more pressure serving in doubles than in singles because I don’t want to sit here and give the match away for my partner. So I’m trying to take that mentality into singles, but it’s not so easy.”
The Upcoming Doubles Final: A Test Against Experienced Opposition
To lift the doubles title, Gauff and Kessler must minimize errors as they face a well-established and formidable team. Their opponents, third seeds Taylor Townsend and Zhang Shuai, bring a wealth of experience with 25 career doubles titles combined. Townsend and Shuai are the reigning champions from the Washington tournament, making them a significant challenge for the newly formed American pairing.
While Gauff is familiar with success in doubles, having captured the 2024 French Open doubles crown, Kessler is seeking her first career title. The partnership between Gauff and Kessler is relatively new, following Gauff’s split from her long-term doubles partner Jessica Pegula.
Reasons Behind the Gauff-Pegula Split in Doubles Partnerships
Gauff and Pegula were once among the most successful doubles duos on the WTA Tour. Together, they claimed three WTA 1000 titles and reached the French Open women’s doubles final in 2022, ranking as the top two players in doubles at one point. Their collaboration continued through Wimbledon 2024 and included the Paris Olympics, where they entered as top seeds but were surprisingly ousted in the second round.
Shortly after the Olympics, both players announced they would reduce their doubles commitments to concentrate more on their singles careers. Pegula explained in 2024,
“I know Coco isn’t interested in playing, or at least I’m not, we’re not thinking of playing, so I probably will take it easy on the doubles the rest of the year, so, yeah, we’ll see.”
She added,
“I think I’ll just play maybe whenever I kind of want to. And maybe just focus on singles the rest of the year.”
When asked earlier this year about the possibility of reuniting, Pegula was clear that they had moved on from regular doubles collaboration. She said,
“I mean, Coco and I played so much for a couple of years there. We did great. A lot of really amazing results and memories.”
Still, she acknowledged the shift in priorities:
“At the same time, doing well in the singles court, we obviously didn’t want to play as much anymore.”
Gauff’s Current Doubles Activity and Future Prospects
Throughout 2025, Gauff has not participated in women’s doubles events at any of the major tournaments, including Roland Garros, where she won her second Grand Slam singles title. She has also not confirmed plans to compete in the doubles or mixed doubles events at the upcoming US Open. Conversely, Pegula has announced she will team up with Tommy Paul for the mixed doubles competition in New York.
Coco Gauff’s focus remains firmly on regaining her singles form, but the chance to claim the doubles title at the Canadian Open presents a timely chance to add a significant achievement to her season. Winning alongside Kessler could also help solidify their partnership and provide confidence as Gauff juggles both disciplines heading into the final Grand Slam of the year.