Jessica Pegula always knew she’d “figure it out eventually” at Grand Slams

NEW YORK—Jessica Pegula’s ‘quiet confidence’ was on display on Thursday evening, as she rallied back from a set down inside Arthur Ashe Stadium to reach the US Open final for the first time.

After playing arguably the best tennis of her life against world No. 1 Iga Swiatek in the quarterfinals, the American had to navigate the emotional rollercoaster of backing up that major victory on the same court just two days later.

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Pegula quickly found herself down 6-1 to unseeded Karolina Muchova—the same player who knocked out two-time champion Naomi Osaka and upset No. 5 seed Jasmine Paolini to reach the last four. Having charged into the semifinals without dropping a set, Pegula eventually completed the 1-6, 6-4, 6-2 turnaround to reach the final.

“It was weird. I feel like before the match with Iga I was way more nervous, and today I was just, like, whatever,” the American revealed in her post-match press conference, adding, “Maybe that was bad, because I clearly came out super flat…

“Some days you come out and you feel great; some days you come out and you are super flat. You just have to deal with it… Obviously, I was able to adapt just in the nick of time tonight.”

The 30-year-old indeed found a way to adapt, just like she’s done throughout her career—from her early years plagued by injury, to her six-match Grand Slam quarterfinal losing streak:

Q. You talked about dreaming of this as a kid. Were there moments where along the way you thought, it's just not going to happen for me?

JESSICA PEGULA: I don't know if I thought it's not going to happen, but there's definitely moments where either, I didn't want to play tennis, or I didn't really know if I wanted to do it anymore. I mean, you definitely hit those types of low moments.

I have definitely had several of those, but I think in the end I always would snap back and be, like, ‘Okay, what am I talking about?’ (rolls eyes)

I would always kind of flip the script a little bit, and I have always been good at doing that. I think that's why I've always been able to come back from different challenges even better than before.

Honestly, I've always felt like—not that it was never going to happen, I almost think the opposite. I always felt like, ‘You know what, you'll figure it out eventually.’ That's always something I've always told myself, I'll figure it out, like, one of these times (smiling).

I think that's just my quiet confidence in myself that I feel like I always have.

Always backing herself despite the ups and downs, Pegula will now face former world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in her first Grand Slam singles final on Saturday. The match will be their eighth career meeting, and a rematch of their Cincinnati Open final clash last month—which saw Sabalenka take a 5-2 lead in their overall head to head.

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There’s a lot on the line for both players, as Sabalenka—who took down No. 13 seed Emma Navarro and Olympic gold medalist Zheng Qinwen on her way to the final in Flushing Meadows—seeks redemption after falling to Coco Gauff at the championship stage last year.

“If you would have told me at the beginning of the year I'd be in the finals of the US Open, I would have laughed so hard,” Pegula admitted on Thursday. “That just was where my head was, I was not thinking that I would be here.

“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.”