Jessica Pegula: The Consistency Finally Pays Off
This article was first published on October 28, 2022.
Consistency, they say is key to making it in life. However, sometimes one could be consistent but not have anything tangible to show for it. Such seemed to be the case for American no.1, Jessica Pegula. In 2019, Pegula had her breakout season when she broke into the top 100 in February and lifted her first WTA title in August at the Citi Open in Washington.
However, 2021 was the year Pegula became a force to reckon and a player to be feared. She reached her first Grand Slam quarter final at the Australian Open, defeating the likes of Grand Slam champions, Victoria Azarenka and Sam Stosur, and fifth seed, Elina Svitolina. She eventually lost to runner-up, Jennifer Brady. With a string of impressive results all year round, Pegula was able to break into the top 20 for the first time. She also had an astounding seven wins against top 10 players.
The 28 year old continued her consistency this year as she has reached the quarter final in three of the four Grand Slams this year, falling short only at Wimbledon where she reached the third round.
She of course made her top 10 debut too.
However, where Pegula showcased consistency and reliability the most over the past two seasons have been in the WTA 1000 tournaments.
In 2021, Pegula reached at least the quarter final at four of the seven WTA 1000 tournaments played. She reached the quarter finals in Dubai, Rome and Indian Wells. She made the semi finals in Montreal, Canada, her first semi final appearance at a 1000 tournament. Her performances at the 1000 level gave her a total of 17 wins for the season.
In 2022, Pegula reached her second 1000 semi final at Miami. She then went on to reach her first WTA 1000 final in Madrid where she lost to Ons Jabeur. She made it back to back semis in Canada, this time in Toronto and reached the quarter final in Cincinnati. By reaching the quarter final at Cincinnati, Pegula became the player with the most hard court wins in WTA 1000 tournaments in the last two seasons with 24 hard court wins at that level.
Due to Pegula's impressive season at Grand Slam and WTA 1000 level, she qualified for the WTA Finals in Fort Worth, for the first time in her career.
However, there was still something missing. Pegula at this point had been so consistent at the 1000 tournaments, reaching seven quarter finals, three semi finals and one final. She had the most wins on 1000 hard courts in the past two seasons. Still, the achievements felt like something was missing. An actual title to back it up. Pegula needed a title win for her consistency and achievements to be remembered and to mean more. Of the seven 1000 tournaments she had played so far in 2022, she lost to the eventual winners in four of them.
Then came the last WTA 1000 of the season at Guadalajara. Her last chance for glory at such an elite level in the sport.
Pegula beat Canadian, Bianca Andreescu to reach the quarter final at Guadalajara to become the first player since 2019 to reach at least five WTA 1000 quarter finals in a single season.
Pegula made more history when she beat compatriot, Sloane Stephen to reach the semi final. She become the player with the most WTA 1000 wins in the past two seasons with 37 wins. This was separate from the record she already held on 1000 hard courts.
The American went on to beat four Grand Slam champions in a row to reach her second 1000 final. She faced Maria Sakkari and at last, the wait was over. Pegula triumphed over Sakkari in straight sets, 6-2, 6-3 to win her first WTA 1000 title and her second career title. It was a fitting way to win, doing so in the final WTA 1000 tournament of the year. All the consistency and records, finally meant more.
To top it all off, Pegula's win at Guadalajara made her rise to a career high world no.3 in the rankings.
Pegula's win was also her 22nd win at WTA 1000 tournaments this seasin. She became the second American player to win at least 22 matches at WTA 1000 level in a single season after Serena Williams in 2013, 2014 and 2015.
After her triumph in Guadalajara, Pegula speaking with WTA Insider Podcast said, "In the other finals I lost, I just feel like I was always a part of someone else's story. Today I felt a little bit better. I felt like I'm writing my story."
On the pride she takes from her whole season, Pegula said, "I think overcoming those constant mental challenges throughout the year is what I'm most proud of. To do it all the way up until the end of the year just shows that I've showed up every single week. I've been able to deal with it and learn from it and gain experience."
It is a beautiful story of showing up consistently at the big tournaments that eventually culminated in the best way possible for the New York born player.
The world no.3, Pegula will now look forward to close out her season on a high as she plays her final tournament of the season at the WTA Finals in Fort Worth, Texas which takes place from October 31st to November 7th.
