Jessica Pegula is still standing

When Jessica Pegula and her co-coach, Mark Merklein, arrived in New York City in early December to take part in the Garden Cup exhibition, memories of their last visit to Gotham triggered a flashback. According to Pegula, upon arrival the coach declared, “Oh, God, I’m back.”

Presumably, it was said at least half in jest. On her last visit in September, Pegula battled her way to her final Grand Slam singles final. The glory of that achievement was counterbalanced by the strenuous effort and anxiety that accompanied it.

“The stress and everything, and the chaos of those three weeks,” Pegula said. “It’s kind of funny, but you feel it instantly coming back to the city.”

At the US Open, the familiar sensory onslaught was piled atop resources already stretched thin by Pegula’s brilliant, breakout summer campaign. Going into the final against Aryna Sabalenka, who would win the tournament and soon reclaim the No. 1 ranking, Pegula was 15-1, including a title and a final in the two top-tier summer 1000 events, Toronto and Cincinnati, respectively. It was a great run that lifted Pegula back to her career-high No. 3 ranking. It owed partly to an epiphany Pegula experienced following her win in Toronto.

“It's exhausting.” Pegula said of the summer hard-court circuit. “Not just the playing, but just the commute, the day-in, the day-out, the press, like the days are so long.” But, she remembered, after the win in Toronto she told herself that she really wanted to perform well in Cincinnati.

“I remember in Cincinnati people were like, ‘Oh, you know, it's okay. You just won Toronto. Like you've just gotten here in a day. We don't expect you to do that well,’” Pegula said. “But I kind of challenge myself. I knew that it would help me in the future at a Slam. And that ended up happening. I mean, who knows?”

Oh, most elite players know. The best competitors know how to keep their foot on the gas after a big win. Pegula’s transformation from a journeywoman into an elite competitor was a lengthy, time-consuming process. She’s a t-crosser and i-dotter, something of a slow learner. Early this year she struggled with her form. Then a rib injury caused her to sit out the entire Euroclay season. That hiatus proved a blessing in disguise.

“I haven’t had that long of a break since Covid,” Pegula said, referring to the pandemic lockdown. “I’ve played so much over the last three, four years that it all caught up with me. I was at a burning-out point and I think in a way getting hurt was probably the best thing for me.”

Pegula admits that while sidelined this spring she felt a measure of FOMO. It was quashed when she won in just her second tournament back, on grass in Berlin. That set her up for the summer run that lifted her reputation to a higher plateau.

But Pegula’s success on hard courts came at a price. A knee injury began flaring up during the post-US Open Asian swing. By the season-ending WTA Finals, her fitness was so compromised that she didn’t even win a set in the round-robin portion. She took the following three weeks off and embarked on a rehab program, and now feels fine.

As the new year approaches, Pegula is at a crossroads. She’s 30 years old and has been a model of consistency for years. Although she topped out at No. 3 again, at the end of the year her finalist points from the 2023 WTA Finals fell off the computer and she finished at No. 7. Does she have it in her to make another push?

Pegula has made her way through the WTA minefield with a precise, consistent game, excellent focus and model self-control. She hits the ball extremely flat (so much so that her forehand is said to have the lowest spin rate in the WTA), and she has excellent hands and “feel.”

It’s no secret that Pegula is short on offense, more dangerous as a returner than a server. This year, she won just 48.5 percent of her own second-serve points, but 56.8 percent of her second-serve return points. Pegula’s calm temperament helps her navigate challenging situations, but she isn’t a great mover, and the trend in the women’s game is toward more explosive, powerful individuals. She knows this all too well.

“I feel like the movement, there’s just so many good athletes playing now,” she said. She’s floored by the sight of 15-year-olds sliding on hard courts as well as clay, exploding out of corners, transitioning from defense to offense in the blink of an eye.

I’m like, oh my God. Even five years ago sliding wasn’t that common. Now it’s like everyone is doing it, everyone moves well.

The terms under which Pegula will have to compete going forward are pretty clear: protect her vulnerable serve, lean on her skills, hit low and flat shots, and embrace an aggressive mindset. She needs to do what she already does best, only better.

Pegula will reduce her commitments in 2025 (in 2023, she played 123 matches, including 77 singles), especially doubles. The fears of falling behind that haunted Pegula in the early half of last year, when she struggled with form and injury, are long gone. Although she never really fell off our radar, she had a statement to make this summer.

She put it simply: ‘Okay, I’m still here.’”