During the decade or so that Jessica Pegula, the World No. 6 from the United States, spent grinding her way through the lower-rung ITF challenger tennis circuits, her experience had been markedly different from that of her competitors.
As the daughter of a billionaire tycoon, access to unlimited resources in an expensive and exclusionary sport, made life easier. Yet it remained a mystery why a player coming from such unquestionable privilege has resigned herself to compete on the brutal stages of tennis, where the only thing lower than the prize money is the prestige, ranked outside the top 100 and playing at unknown tournaments around the world.
Only an unintelligible craze for tennis could propel Pegula to do so, and the result was the development of an almost deceptive level of resilience and mental composure. Throughout the 30-year-old’s late rise to the top 10 and elite level of tennis, she has been able to fall back on that resilience in the absence of flashy tennis or big power.
How Aryna Sabalenka and Jessica Pegula reached the US Open final 👇 pic.twitter.com/kE6RaV1y7q
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 6, 2024
She did so again early on Friday, completing an astonishing comeback to defeat Czech Republic’s Karolina Muchova 1-6, 6-4, 6-2 to reach her maiden Grand Slam final at the US Open. The remarkable victory came only 24 hours after the biggest result of Pegula’s career, when she defeated World No. 1 and 2022 champion Iga Swiatek to win her first Major quarterfinal on her seventh attempt.
The euphoria from the triumph against Swiatek came to a crashing halt in the opening exchanges on Saturday’s semifinal. Muchova opened proceedings by showing off her variety of tools in her all-court game; slicing low, volleying deftly, stretching Pegula to all corners of the court. The American slumped in the first set, and as she was being thoroughly outplayed, a few key points under pressure would prove to be the catalyst for the turnaround.
Down breakpoint at 0-2, Pegula produced a defensive passing shot on the run – more of a squash-style flick as opposed to a full-blooded groundstroke – that caught Muchova off guard, and Pegula escaped to stay in the contest. Later, under pressure down 1-2, she came up with the defensive goods to win four points in a row and level scores, and saved break point again to go ahead 3-2. From there, as the crowd cheered the home favourite, Pegula stuck to her strengths – total solidity from the baseline – to ride the momentum, win five games in a row, and cruise to the comeback victory.
Believe it, Jessica Pegula!
You’re in a Grand Slam final! pic.twitter.com/4VYlp8GtPq
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 6, 2024
“It comes down to really small moments that flip momentum,” Pegula said, per Reuters, after the match. “She made me look like a beginner … I was about to burst into tears because it was embarrassing. I started to play like how I wanted to play … It took a while but I don’t know how I turned that around, honestly.”
“If you would have told me at the beginning of the year I’d be in the finals of the U.S. Open, I would have laughed so hard,” she added. “To be able to overcome all those challenges and say that I get a chance at the title Saturday is what we play for as players, let alone being able to do that in my home country here, in my home slam. It’s perfect, really.”
Pegula takes on second seed Aryna Sabalenka in the final late on Saturday. Sabalenka defeated another home favourite – and coincidentally, another billionaire American heiress – in the plucky Emma Navarro in two clinical sets earlier on Friday.
Consistent from the baseline
Pegula’s tennis is in stark contrast to her country club upbringing. Perhaps part of the reason is that while tennis has long faced allegations of elitism – with layers of truth to it too – on the lower-rung tours, it is excruciating for all. The desperation to improve rankings and play the Slams, at small tournaments with little rewards, is a feeling all the players share collectively.
With the American, there is no easy talent or quiet brilliance; instead a reliance on doing what it takes to win. She is consistent from the baseline, often finding plenty of depth and tight angles from her groundstrokes. Even though it’s not the biggest, she can go into lockdown mode on serve. Her redirection of base and defence can, at times, be frustratingly effective for her opponents.
Undeniable.
Aryna Sabalenka earns a second chance at the US Open title this Saturday! pic.twitter.com/xNqOzvcMKS
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 6, 2024
She will require the entire repertoire of her skills to take on her next challenge. Sabalenka had roared into the year with a dominant triumph at the Australian Open, but personal strife and injury trouble caused a mid-year slump which was swiftly addressed in time for the US Open, as she won the WTA 1000 event in Cincinnati just before the year-ending Slam in New York.
In Cincinnati, Sabalenka’s charge had been imperious, where she defeated Swiatek in the semifinal and Pegula in the final. Her playing style, all-power, all the time, has worked to devastating effect on the quicker hard courts this year. She has gone 13 matches unbeaten at hard court Majors this year, and is yet to lose a set. In two years, she lost one Grand Slam match on a hard court – last year’s US Open final to Coco Gauff.
If Pegula is to cause the upset and take home a maiden Major, it will have to be an even more emphatic performance than her recent victories.
