American Jessica Pegula of half-Korean descent eased past Yuan Yue of China in the final of the Hana Bank Korea Open to win her fourth career title and second this season.
The world No.4 Pegula raced through the first set and further solidified her advantage with a double break early in the second set of the final. Although the subsequent three games saw a series of breaks, with Yuan claiming two and Pegula one, the American maintained her edge at 4-2. The 29-year-old Pegula concluded the match with another break, securing a commanding victory with a final scoreline of 6-2 6-3.
After winning Washington DC in 2019, WTA 1000 Guadalajara in 2022 and WTA 1000 Montreal earlier this season, Pegula triumphed in her mother’s birth city of Seoul (Kim Pegula was born in South Korea and was adopted into an American family at the age of five).
Playing her ninth Tour-level singles final and her fourth tournament as the top seed, Pegula defeated Viktoria Hruncakova, Ashlyn Krueger, Claire Liu, Yanina Wickmayer, and lastly the world No.128 Yuan, the lowest ranked opponent she has faced in a final. Making her first appearance at Seoul, Yuan pulled off a career-best four-match winning streak and made her debut in Tour-level quarterfinals, semifinals and finals.
