Over the weekend in Mexico, Jessica Pegula told reporters that it was nice to see people starting to notice her for her tennis and not due to her family.
Pegula, whose parents are the owners NHL team Buffalo Sabers and the NFL team Buffalo Bills, has achieved a series of milestones during her recent run at the Guadalajara Open. The American defeated Grand Slam champions Elena Rybakina, Bianca Andreescu, Sloane Stephens and Victoria Azarenka en route to the final.
In the title match on Sunday, Pegula eased her way to a 6-2, 6-3, win over Greek fourth seed Maria Sakkari. She won 79% of her first service points and broke Sakkari five times to claim the biggest title of her career to date at the WTA 1000 event.
“I thought I just played really solid, I didn’t really make a lot of silly errors or stupid decisions. I served really smart, I returned well,” Pegula said following her win over Sakkari. “There were a lot of different points where I had to maybe slice and come in, or serve and volley, or do something different, and I just didn’t panic, I just kind of did what I had to do to win the point, and it was working.”
Pegula’s latest triumph has elevated her to a ranking high of No.3 this week. A well-deserved position for the 28-year-old who has recorded 41 main draw wins this season. Only Ons Jabeur (46) and Iga Swiatek (62) have won more than her. Both of whom are ranked higher than her.
“I’m not sure if a lot of people thought I would be at my ranking now or have as many chances as I’ve had”, she said. “Just being able to prove people wrong, prove myself wrong a little bit, keep building, is probably what I’m most proud of.”
Besides Guadalajara, Pegula also reached the final of the Madrid Open and the quarter-finals of three out of four Grand Slam tournaments this season. She has also won a further five titles in doubles, including the French Open with Coco Gauff.
Aiming to end 2022 on a high, Pegula’s focus now switches to the WTA Finals where she will make her debut in both singles and doubles. It is taking place in her home country for the first time since 2005.
“I’m just super happy to end my year with a title,” Pegula states. “To be able to do that in the last event of the year, just the reward of going to play the (WTA) Finals. I’m just excited to end my year on a good note.”
Since the start of 2021, Pegula has won 39 matches at WTA 1000 tournaments which is more than any other player.
