Jessica Pegula strode into Wimbledon’s cavernous interview room, bucket hat perched on her head, and stared on the empty room. When she realized that there have been no media members there to ask her about her second-round win over Cristina Bucsa, Pegula chuckled, bought up and walked out.
Pegula is rarely completely shocked when consideration is diverted away from her. Although ranked No. 3 on the planet, the very best amongst American girls, and the champion on the Canadian Open two weeks in the past, Pegula, 29, has by no means superior to the semifinals in singles at a Grand Slam event. She is 0-6 in quarterfinal appearances on the majors, together with at this 12 months’s Australian Open and Wimbledon. America Open, the place she misplaced to Iga Swiatek in a decent two-setter final 12 months, is her closing likelihood this season.
At 5-foot-7, Pegula doesn’t have a thunderous serve, like Aryna Sabalenka. And she or he doesn’t possess flashy actions just like the No. 1 Swiatek. Pegula may also flutter emotionally, as when she let a 4-1 lead slip within the third set in opposition to the eventual Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova. As an alternative, it’s her consistency that units her aside.
“Her ball-striking is actually, actually good,” mentioned David Witt, her coach since 2019. “If I had been to consider a participant who hits this clear it will be [former No. 1] Lindsay Davenport.”
Pegula’s recreation is sturdy and dependable. She has a large wingspan and hits with large energy off the forehand and backhand. Due to her doubles success with Coco Gauff, she has turn into a more-than-competent volleyer.
She additionally studiously avoids the histrionics that a lot of her compatriots get entangled in.
“I’m fairly chill, fairly laid-back,” mentioned Pegula in an interview throughout Wimbledon in July. “It takes rather a lot to get me going emotionally, excited or upset. Perhaps that’s good for the U.S. Open, as a result of I’m in a position to keep well-balanced.”
For Pegula, the Open is a blended bag. A Buffalo native (her dad and mom personal the Buffalo Payments of the N.F.L. and the Buffalo Sabres of the Nationwide Hockey League), she likes the fan assist in New York however struggles with the mayhem.
“I really feel just like the Open is actually scorching and crowded,” mentioned Pegula, who didn’t qualify 4 occasions on the Open earlier than reaching the third spherical in 2020. “Every little thing is sort of in opposition to you. There’s a lot occurring. You’re normally actually overrated, and it’s sort of such as you’re working on fumes. There’s simply a lot vitality, and it may be actually enjoyable, however it may possibly additionally zap rather a lot out of you. It’s one thing you must discover ways to steadiness.”
Stability is especially necessary for Pegula, who weathered career-threatening knee and hip accidents that saved her out of the U.S. Open a decade in the past, after which she confronted the emotional turmoil of her mom’s coronary heart assault final June.
Jimmy Arias, a former prime 5 participant who has labored with Pegula, as soon as tried to impress upon her that there have been two forms of rivals: a lion and a rat. Pegula, along with her fearsome floor strokes, has lengthy been a lion. What she wanted to undertake was the rat half.
“In a nuclear explosion, a rat is the one animal to outlive,” Arias mentioned. “J.P. had the weapons of a lion, however she wanted the mentality of the rat. She needed to discover ways to dig, claw and scratch her method out. Now, when she’s in hassle, she will discover her method out of a degree.”
Pegula understands that; it’s simply the execution that may be tough.
“I’m doing all the things to place myself in a very good place,” she mentioned. “It’s just a bit extra perception in myself within the later levels of tournaments and being extra aggressive within the larger moments.”
And if she doesn’t break by way of and win a serious, will she really feel unfulfilled?
“If I needed to cease tomorrow, I believe I’d be fairly happy,” she mentioned. “I bought to have this wonderful profession, proved rather a lot to myself and to a number of different folks. Clearly, there’s extra that I need to do, however I’ve gotten by way of the actually powerful elements and a number of actually large lows. To return out of that has been a win in itself.”