“I was always scared” – Pegula on how confidence has transformed her game
The American had some insight into her rise to the top
Jessica Pegula in practice in Stuttgart (Zuma/PSNewz)
Jessica Pegula arrives in Stuttgart with nothing to prove, she says – on her tournament debut, she has no points to defend, and she intends to enjoy it.
“I didn’t get to play this swing last year,” she told a pre-tournament press conference. “I’m coming in, I think, excited, fresh. Don’t have anything to defend. I think that’s always a good feeling, when there’s not a lot of pressure to defend points.
“Yeah, I think just make the most of it, use the confidence that I’ve gained from the previous week in Charleston, all the things I’ve been working on going into the clay season, adding certain things to my game, seeing how it works out. Excited to be here.”
Pegula: To be a top player you have to back up your results
The current world No 3 reflected on her rise to the top, sitting in the Top 10 for the last three years, and winning seven of her eight singles titles since 2022 as well as reaching the final of the US Open in 2024.
“I always believed in my game, but I was always scared,” she said. “I never wanted to have a big result and not be able to have consistent results.
“I remember the first time I made quarters of a slam [at the Australian Open in 2021], I went to Doha and I was in quallies. I was like, I don’t want to be that player that makes quarter-finals and then has kind of a breakout at your slam, then loses in qualifying. It’s really hard when you have to back up results week to week, to feel like a top player.
“I surprise myself with how well I adjusted because honestly since then, I’ve been a top player. I did not think it was going to happen. I thought even after the first year of doing well, I thought I’d have like a sophomore slump a little bit, not put up results.
“I’ve kind of surprised myself. I don’t know. I guess I’m lucky in that aspect where I’ve been a top player for seems like a while now. Even being able to make the jump into the top five, make the jump going deeper in a slam just last year, winning 1000s. You always think you can, but I never thought I’d be able to do it consistently. When I was younger, that wasn’t my strength. How I’ve been able to do it, I really don’t know. Maybe I’m pretty relaxed. Maybe it’s my mindset. It just kind of happened naturally.
“Very thankful that I’ve been able to be a top player for a few years now. Even though I might not have the biggest titles all the time, maybe compared to Aryna, Iga, someone like that, I feel like consistency is a strength that I have. Even though it’s not winning a slam yet, I’m happy that I’m able to come in week after week and put up good results. I think that is kind of a strength in itself in a different way. So I’m very proud of that, yeah.”
