PEGULA RELISHES RETURN TO PIVOT-POINT

AMERICAN TURNED SO-SO ‘24 INTO YEAR TO REMEMBER

By Richard Osborn

In June, she had saved five championship points against Anna Kalinskaya to take the title in Berlin. But Jessica Pegula still wasn’t satisfied with her results, in her own words deeming 2024 a “so-so” year.

That is, until the dog days of summer rolled around. Pegula would successfully defend her WTA 1000 title in Toronto, then reach back-to-back finals in Cincinnati and Flushing Meadows, the latter her first time appearing in a Grand Slam title match. (She would come up short against Aryna Sabalenka on both occasions.)

Returning to the Lindner Family Tennis Center last week, Pegula couldn’t help but reflect on that late-summer turnaround of a year ago.

“I can’t believe we’re already back. It blows my mind how fast this past year has gone,” said Pegula, No. 4 in the PIF WTA Rankings. “I remember coming straight here from Toronto, coming back from an injury [knee], kind of shocked that I won Toronto. People didn’t even think I was going to play Cincy because it was such a quick turnaround. I ended up doing really well. It turned into one of the best years I’ve ever had. That’s the thing with tennis: It can change so quickly.”

Pegula, 31, is often at her best when she’s playing a lot of matches. That was the case this spring, when the American won 17 of 19, a streak that resulted in titles in Austin and Charleston (a career-first on clay), and a WTA 1000 final in Miami. They’ll be points to defend over the next several weeks, of course, but Pegula sees it as a good problem to have.

“It’s a perspective of, not everyone has the privilege to be able to defend, because that means you did well,” she said. “I’m just trying to look at it that way and just trying to get my feet under me and, hopefully, get some good matches in here.”

So far, so good.

The fourth seed is back into the third round at the Lindner Family Tennis Center after a 6-4, 6-3 dismissal of Aussie Kimberly Birrell. Up next is 31st seed Magda Linette of Poland, against whom she is an unbeaten 3-0.

“We’ve had a couple or really close matches,” said Pegula. “I was fortunate to come out on top of them, but I feel like she likes the fast courts and these conditions. I’ve been practicing with her a few times, and she’s kind of been killing me, so I’m hoping I’m able to flip that in a match. But she’s always really tough. We know we each other’s games very well.”

Since capturing June’s Bad Homburg Open, where she downed Iga Swiatek for the third time in the past four meetings, Pegula has struggled to put another streak together. She hopes to kickstart another here in Cincinnati.

“I’m playing good tennis, but sometimes taking control of the momentum and those big points is something that I just haven’t been able to execute coming off of Wimbledon,” she said. “It’s frustrating, but at the same time, you just keep working and trying to problem solve and figure out. What is that cue to get that back, or what is that cue to get your feet moving, your serve or return? We’ve just been trying to problem solve it, but at the same time, not overthink it. That’s hard. You’re trying to go out there and work on things, trying to get back to basics, and that can be a little up and down. I feel like I’m in the thick of it, but it’s not the first time.”