Coco Gauff suffered embarrassment at US Open with Jessica Pegula laughing

Jessica Pegula couldn't help but laugh during the 2023 US Open when doubles partner Coco Gauff celebrated their first-round victory a tad too early. The 2023 US Open was a landmark event for Gauff, as she triumphed over Aryna Sabalenka 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 to become a Grand Slam champion for the first time.

While she bowed out of this year's competition in the round of 16 to a formidable Naomi Osaka, she has had her share of awkward moments in New York.

Pegula, who reached the US Open final in 2024, partnered with her fellow American in the women's doubles two years ago and found Gauff's premature celebration rather amusing. At the age of 19, Gauff teamed up with Pegula to take on Elizabeth Mandlik and Quinn Gleason in the first round of the 2023 US Open women's doubles. The pair breezed through the first set, winning it 6-2.

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The second set was equally dominant, with the American duo surging into a 5-1 lead. However, when Gauff secured the fifth point with a powerful forehand return, the teenager began celebrating and rushed over to embrace Pegula, reports the Express. But the match wasn't over yet.

They still needed one more point to win, and Gauff looked incredibly embarrassed when she realised she had attempted to celebrate with her partner early. The American was seen doubled over in laughter, her hand covering her mouth, while her doubles partner, Pegula, couldn't resist joining in the chuckles.

Despite the humorous mix-up, both Gauff and Pegula sailed through to the second round with a 6-2, 6-1 victory. When quizzed about the amusing incident, Gauff confessed to the courtside reporter: "Oh, I thought the match was over. I hit a great return and I went for a hug and Jess was like going away from me.

"I was like, 'Damn. Like what did I do?' I realized that the match wasn't over. There was no game, set, match so that was me, my mess up! We were playing so good so I thought it was over."

Both Gauff and Pegula made it to the quarterfinals of the women's doubles that year, where they were narrowly defeated by Wang Xinyu and Hsieh Su-wei. While Pegula, who was the No. 3 seed, bowed out of the women's singles competition in the fourth round, Gauff went on to clinch the championship title, shedding light on her family's emotional reaction to her win.

"When I hugged my dad, I didn't see him, because he went immediately for the embrace – but I heard him crying. I have never seen that man cry in my life," revealed the American champion. "My mum, I knew she was going to cry regardless if I won or lost.

"Honestly [I was thinking] nothing. The whole time I was saying to myself, 'Oh my goodness, how is this real?'"

Following her defeat to Osaka on Monday, Gauff admitted she "broke down" to her team but was buoyed by their take on her on-court improvements.

"After the match, I was really disappointed. Kind of broke down to my team," she explained. "Then hearing their perspectives and everything, it definitely is a lot of positive things. I think if I kept the way I was going in Cincinnati to here, I would have been out in the first round.

"So I think where my serve started from the start of the tournament to today was a big improvement. I feel like now I just have to get everything to work together. But, yeah, I knew going in it was going to be a tough tournament for me.

"Did I feel like I had a lot of confidence after my last match? Yeah, definitely. I think that was a big confidence booster. So today feels more disappointing I think than maybe it would have felt losing in the first or second round."