Coco Gauff stormed to her second Cincinnati Open title with a 6-2 6-4 triumph over fellow American Jessica Pegula in Sunday's final.

The first all-American final in Ohio since 1970 was won by the fourth seed inside 75 minutes, as she became only the third two-time winner of the event in the Open Era (also triumphing in 2023), after Victoria Azarenka and Serena Williams.

Gauff could hardly have asked for a better start as she won the first five games, with her excellent movement and dogged defensive work ensuring Pegula never had a comfortable rally, even on her own serve.

Pegula broke to love to get the opener back to 5-2 and inspire some brief hope, but Gauff went a set up courtesy of yet another break, with Pegula's cross-court forehand landing wide on set point.

The second set started in similar fashion, with another swift break allowing Gauff to surge into a 3-0 lead. 

After pushing hard to make it a double break, Gauff eventually saw her own serve broken to allow Pegula back into the contest at 5-4. 

But just like in the first set, Gauff got the job done with another break as she preyed on Pegula's inconsistency with the ball in hand. This one came to love, with Pegula thundering a forehand into the net on match point.

Asked what her Cincinnati triumph might mean for her US Open prospects, Gauff told reporters: "I think with each match, I was feeling more and more confident in trusting the work that I put in and the practice.

"It's about knowing that I can figure out these matches – and it's going to be tough in New York – but just remembering the quality wins that I had this week, that I'm able to figure it out even if I'm not playing my best."

4 - Coco Gauff is the third-youngest player since the format’s introduction in 1990 to claim Tier I / WTA-1000 titles for 4+ consecutive seasons, older only than Martina Hingis and Maria Sharapova. Regularity.#CincyTennis | @CincyTennis @WTA pic.twitter.com/FklCBFopKu

— OptaAce (@OptaAce) August 24, 2026

Gauff ramps up hard-court form

Ahead of the final grand slam of the year, Gauff can confidently state there is no player on the WTA Tour better equipped for success on hard courts.

She has now won 10 Tour-level titles on the surface and has only required 11 finals to do so – the joint-fewest of any player in the Open Era, alongside Margaret Court and Martina Hingis.

In addition, only Williams (13) has claimed more WTA 1000 titles than Gauff (four, now equal with Pegula) among Americans since the format's introduction in 2009.

Back in her opening match at this year's Cincinnati Open, Gauff had appeared to be in trouble when she went a set down to Liudmila Samsonova, but she responded by winning 12 successive sets to take the crown, only losing 32 games in that run.

With world number one Aryna Sabalenka struggling for form and number two Elena Rybakina suffering an injury scare, 2023 US Open champion Gauff may be this year's player to beat at Flushing Meadows.