Jessica Pegula picked up her second win at the WTA Finals by defeating Jasmine Paolini in her final round robin match.
Pegula defeated Coco Gauff at the WTA Finals, but lost to Aryna Sabalenka, and now her progress to the knockout stages relies on the result of Sabalenka vs Gauff.
The American made light work of Paolini, who won just five games against the star who has previously beaten her five times on the WTA Tour.
With her qualification in the balance, Pegula revealed her thoughts on the win in her post-match interview.
Jessica Pegula opens up on ‘totally different’ Jasmine Paolini
Pegula has an excellent record against Paolini with five straight wins on the WTA Tour, but the Italian did manage to topple the American at the Billie Jean King Cup in September.
Speaking to The Tennis Channel’s CoCo Vandeweghe, Pegula said: “Well, I mean, she beat me at Billie Jean King Cup and that was a tough loss because obviously it was in the finals and we ended up losing that.
“But yeah, I mean, in the past it has, but I haven’t really played her where she’s been a top ten player, to be honest. And so, that’s a totally different thing, seeing how they’ve gotten better at a lot of things, that maybe how you used to play them doesn’t work the same.
“But I felt like today I went back to basics a little bit and kind of learned from when I played her at Billie Jean King Cup.”
The pair have not met outside of their Billie Jean King Cup since 2023, when Pegula beat Paolini at the Canadian Open.
Jessica Pegula and Jasmine Paolini’s head-to-head record
Paolini has only truly entered the upper echelons of the WTA Tour in the past two years during the latter stage of her career.
The 29-year-old did not become a top 10 player until the end of 2024, but she’s managed to maintain the ranking with an impressive season this year.
- 2016: Jessica Pegula def. Jasmine Paolini at Orlando
- 2018: Jessica Pegula def. Jasmine Paolini at Houston
- 2021: Jessica Pegula def. Jasmine Paolini at Indian Wells
- 2022: Jessica Pegula def. Jasmine Paolini at Charleston
- 2023: Jessica Pegula def. Jasmine Paolini at Montreal
- 2025: Jasmine Paolini def. Jessica Pegula at the Billie Jean King Cup
- 2025: Jessica Pegula def. Jasmine Paolini at the WTA Finals
As such, the pair’s head-to-head record does not seem to be a just way of showcasing how the players rank up together.
Pegula has beaten Paolini on hard and clay court across matches in Orlando and Indian Wells, but they’ve split their meetings in 2025.
Paolini helped Italy win the Billie Jean King Cup with a win over Pegula, while the American’s win at the WTA Finals saw her level up their 2025 head-to-head.
