As Wimbledon marks its thrilling conclusion today, fans are ready for the next Grand Slam: the U.S. Open! But even more than a month away from the tournament, the news of a potential split between the two top players has stirred up in the tennis community. They are none other than the ideal doubles partners, Jessica Pegula and Coco Gauff. Though a concrete revelation is still missing from the duo, Jessica Pegula’s latest hint on the subject is sending ripples down the tennis world.

Last year, it was Coco Gauff who alluded to scaling back on playing doubles. “I will say next year I do want to play a little bit less doubles maybe after the Olympics,” she said. But it seems Jessica Pegula might also consider the same. In her latest X post, the World No. 5’s eyes fell on a hilarious video of Siniakova shrugging with a huge smile, with the caption, “If you want to win the US Open Doubles title, you know who to call…” The American player reposted it on her account and wrote, “Frfr. Doubles queen.” Is this the beginning of the end of their doubles partnership, or was it just a hilarious joke? Well, this year’s new trend might hint at a serious underlying story.

With Jessica Pegula staying out of the tennis court owing to her injury, the World No. 2 had considered alternative options when it comes to playing doubles. At first, it was the Madrid Open, where she partnered with Taylor Townsend and even reached the quarterfinals of the event. However, as Pegula withdrew from the Italian open as well, Gauff had to again go on a partner hunt. This time, Erin Routliffe came to her rescue, with whom she made it to the finals. 

And with Pegula stepping away from the French Open, a final doubles clash alongside Katerina Siniakova (a former World No.1 in doubles) in the French Open also proved to be quite successful for the 20-year-old player, as she clinched her maiden title there. However, unlike her new partners, Coco Gauff has had a tremendous victory with Jessica Pegula in terms of winning multiple titles.

With five of the titles, both have shown their unbeatable dynamic on-court. And as Jessica Pegula is back on track at Wimbledon, the duo once again showed their usual charm and qualified for the quarterfinals of the event. However, they fell short against Elise Merterns, and Hsieh Su-Wei. And after that, the question of their partnership going forward at the US Open still hangs in the air. But last year, Coco Gauff’s revelation painted a different picture.

Coco Gauff speaks on her “doubles” goal with Jessica Pegula 

“I do see myself playing in the Slams the majority of the times in doubles,” Coco Gauff said during an interview last year. The World No. 1 doubles player has nine career doubles titles, but the hunger for more is still as fresh as ever. Especially in the U.S. Open! “Probably not every Slam, but maybe US Open, and that Slam I think is the one that I would prefer to play as much as possible.”

But, even before that, she also expressed her wish to win a gold medal in the doubles at the Olympics too. “One of my biggest dreams is to win a gold medal..I think it’s one of the things that it doesn’t matter what event it’s in.” But will she have Jessica Pegula by her side while she achieves her dream?

Coco Gauff has always strongly rejected the idea of changing her doubles partner from Jessica Pegula to someone new and has either called it “weird” or said, “No, we are still playing.” However, a lack of that same emphasis recently has made us all worried. As we all wait for an answer, hopefully, the speculations don’t come true!