Jessica Pegula reveals the key change that Iga Swiatek made which helped her win Wimbledon
Jessica Pegula says that she has ‘processed’ her Wimbledon upset ‘pretty fast’, revealing that she recognised a crucial improvement in Iga Swiatek’s game during their recent grass-court clash.
The American’s most recent match was a first-round Wimbledon clash against former world No 29 Elisabetta Cocciaretto, being shocked 6-2, 6-3 in just 58 minutes.
Pegula is now due to face off with former US Open finalist Leylah Fernandez in the second round of the WTA 500 event in Washington.
“Yeah, I mean, it’s (the Wimbledon loss) disappointing, but it was almost like I got killed, like, so bad that you’re kind of just like, okay, just flush that one and move on,” said Pegula.
“There’s not much to really say or do. It was a bad match for me, but at the same time, she played great and it was a great moment for her.
“So I feel like I always try to look at things with a good perspective that sometimes it’s not always your moment. Sometimes it’s the other person’s moment.
“I mean, I have had it be my moment quite a bit, so I think I tried to look at that with that perspective that it wasn’t the week for me, and I just want to take as much as I can and what I have learned from that match and kind of incorporate that into the couple of weeks.
“But again, it’s not like rewriting the wheel and having to change a bunch of things just because of one match.
“You know, so I think I processed it pretty fast. The good thing is I was able to be home and get two really solid weeks at home before coming on the hard-court swing. It was really nice being home and spending time with my family and getting in a good training block.”
The loss at the grass-court Grand Slam was even more surprising given that Pegula had lifted the trophy at the WTA 500 tournament in Bad Homburg just a few days prior, defeating Iga Swiatek 6-4, 7-5 to cap off an excellent week of tennis.
Ultimately, it was the Pole who lifted the Venus Rosewater Dish at Wimbledon to claim her sixth Grand Slam – her first title since the French Open in 2024.
The world No 4 was particularly impressed by Swiatek’s serving during their Bad Homburg meeting, something which translated well at SW19.
“I thought she was serving a lot bigger [at Bad Homburg],” analysed Pegula.
“I didn’t really watch her much during Wimbledon. I’m not sure if that was better. But she was serving really big in Bad Homburg and playing good tennis and beat good grass-court players.
“I thought our final was a really high level. It was super close.
“You know, she is always kind of down on herself about grass, and I was like, ‘Hey, you’re playing really good on grass. I’m not really sure why you think you’re bad on grass or what it is’.
“So it was kind of funny that she ended up winning Wimbledon. I was, like, of course I said that, and we had that moment and we played in the final, and then she wins Wimbledon, but that’s just tennis for you. You kind of never know. She’s a great player anyway, so she’s going to be good on any surface.
“But yeah, it is interesting for – tennis is weird. You have a lot of weird things that happen over the course of two weeks.”
Latest WTA News
Emma Raducanu misses a glut of match points before winning first match on US hard courts
WTA Rankings: Lois Boisson achieves milestone with maiden title win, Alex Eala -13
The Citi DC Open undoubtedly holds a special place in Pegula’s heart, being the site of her first singles title.
In 2019, whilst ranked as the world No 79, she dominated Camila Giorgi 6-2, 6-2 in the showpiece match – launching her closer to the WTA’s top 50.
“It was a huge breakthrough for me as a player,” Pegula reminisced.
“It was the first professional title I had ever won. I never even won a challenger singles title.
“So for me, getting that monkey off my back, being able to do it at a tour level for the first time was great, and to think that was such a big mountain for me to climb at the time and now I’m sitting here and I have won, I don’t know, eight or nine or whatever it is, and doubles titles, as well, it’s kind of funny how things can seem far away, but once you do them it becomes easier, it’s less of a mountain to get over.
“But it definitely was a really fun week for me here, and I still feel like I have those memories every time I come back.
“I know so many of the volunteers and the people that work this tournament, from the security to the transport that have seen me and helped me over all the last four or five, whatever I’m on, six years ago? Over the last six years.
“So it’s been really cool, and I still have that same kind of feeling every time I come back here, and that’s why I always feel like I can play good tennis here and have some good results. So, yeah, I love coming back here.”
The American will be hoping to build her hard-court form ahead of the US Open, with her highlights at the Grand Slam being a quarter-final appearance in 2022 and a final showing in 2024.
