Coco Gauff vs Leylah Fernandez Prediction United Cup Tennis Picks 12/29/24

Coco Gauff will not be defending her Auckland title this week after being nominated to spearhead USA's quest for a second United Cup title.

The 20-year-old has never taken part in this competition before but is thrilled and ready to get going on debut on Sunday against Leylah Fernandez in a meeting between two of the best young players on the WTA Tour.

Gauff is coming off a very successful season in which she retained her spot as the top-ranked American woman as World No. 3, won her first Grand Slam doubles title at Roland Garros and the WTA Finals in Riyadh.

Overall, she won 54 matches and three titles with one of the best records on hard courts in 2024.

Leylah Fernandez Preview

Canada's campaign got underway on Saturday as they defeated Croatia 2-1. Leylah Fernandez notched her country's first point in the tie when she beat Donna Vekic in straight sets. 

In the victory, Fernandez hammered four aces and two double faults and landed 63% of first serves. She won 81% of first-serve points (26/32) and 74% of second-serve points (14/19). She did not save a single break point in the match on her serve.

The 22-year-old won 36% of her return points (19/53) and converted two of eight break points. Fernandez was selected to partner Felix Auger-Aliassime in mixed doubles to decide the outcome of the tie and the duo won convincingly 6-3, 6-4 against the Croatian pair of Ivan Dodig and Lucija Ciric Bagaric.

Coco Gauff vs Leylah Fernandez Head-To-Head

• Despite being born two years apart, Gauff and Fernandez have never shared a court.

Coco Gauff vs Leylah Fernandez Prediction

Gauff will look to get the ball rolling here with eyes set on winning this tournament. She won 31 of 40 matches on outdoor hard courts last season and is currently the in-form player at the United Cup. Historically, she's the kind of player who doesn't need a lot of match practice to find her level on a match day, but Fernandez should offer stiff competition. I expect Gauff to seize her momentum and win in two close sets.