Jessica Pegula Recalls the Frustration of her First-Round Wimbledon Exit After Reaching the US Open Semifinals

Jessica Pegula will face World No.1 Aryna Sabalenka in the semi-final of the US Open.

Jessica Pegula Recalls the Frustration of her First-Round Wimbledon Exit After Reaching the US Open Semifinals

Jessica Pegula (Image via X/WTA)

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Jessica Pegula secured her place in the semi-finals of the US Open after beating two-time Grand Slam singles champion Barbora Krejcikova in straight sets. In the wake of this, the American star reflected on her shocking first-round exit at the Wimbledon Championships, despite being one of the major contenders for the title.

The 31-year-old had won the Bad Homburg Open after beating Iga Swiatek in straight sets in the final, days before Wimbledon kicked off, and was among the favorites to win the grass-court Grand Slam. But she was stunned by Italy’s Elisabetta Cocciaretto 6-2, 6-3 in the first round. She just struck five winners and 24 unforced errors and was broken four times.

Pegula didn’t recover from the defeat even after a month as she won only two matches in her next three tournaments. But since arriving in New York for the US Open, she’s yet to drop a set and is also yet to be broken. She continued with her good performance in the quarter-finals, producing another dominant performance, this time against Krejcikova.

She beat the Czech Republic star 6-3, 6-3 to become the first woman to reach back-to-back semi-finals at the US Open without dropping a set since Serena Williams (2011 to 2014). While Pegula performed brilliantly in an hour and twenty-six minutes, Krejcikova was poor on the court, hitting seven double faults and a first-serve percentage of 42.

During Pegula’s post-match press conference, she was asked why she didn’t perform at her best at Wimbledon the way she has been doing at the US Open. She admitted that the grass-court major event didn’t go as planned and she was a bit frustrated after her exit:

But, yes, Wimbledon didn’t go well. I was a bit frustrated after Wimbledon because, obviously, I won in Bad Homburg and was playing very well, and then, of course, you see Iga win Wimbledon. I felt like I was playing good tennis, but that didn’t translate at all in the first round. I played against someone who was playing very, very well, and that’s tough. So, I had to start over from scratch.

Pegula is seeking to reach her first Grand Slam final since the 2024 US Open, while also aiming to reach her first WTA final since Bad Homburg. She has won three titles this season, on three different surfaces, hard court at Austin, green clay at Charleston, and grass at Bad Homburg. The World No.4 will be seeking her first Grand Slam in New York.

Jessica Pegula shares the reason behind her recent form after reaching the semi-finals of the US Open

Jessica Pegula failed to defend her Canadian Open title last month, winning just one match before falling to Anastasija Sevastova in three sets. She also failed to defend her runners-up finish at the Cincinnati Open, winning just one match. Despite her poor form leading up to the US Open, she has been playing great tennis.

Jessica Pegula
Jessica Pegula (Image via X/WTA Insider)

She’s set to face Aryna Sabalenka in the semi-finals of the US Open, a rematch of the 2024 women’s singles final. She revealed during the aforementioned press conference that the reason behind her recent good form is that she has a lot of self-confidence as a top player in the women’s circuit:

Ultimately, I always come back to the fact that I have a lot of self-confidence, and I believe I will always rely on myself and figure things out in the end, instead of getting into a downward spiral and letting things get too far. I always realize in time. That’s what I’ve been able to do over the last four or five years, being a top-level player.

Pegula will head into her clash against Sabalenka with her head held high despite their almost one-sided 2-7 head-to-head record on tour. The American star has also lost to the World No.1 in their last three meetings on the hard court.

Also Read: Coco Gauff Plays Down Expectations For the Rest of the Year After US Open Exit