Jessica Pegula’s wholesome behaviour draws praise from Yuan Yue

Jessica Pegula enjoyed an incredible week in Seoul as she won the Korea Open, but more importantly she left a lasting impression with her on-court and off-court behaviour.

World No 4 Pegula dropped only one set en route to winning the fourth WTA Tour singles title of her career, defeating Yuan Yue 6-3, 6-3 in Sunday’s final.

The American was appearing in her 10th top-level final while on the opposite side of the net Yuan was making her debut in a WTA final. In fact, the 25-year-old Yuan reached her maiden WTA quarter-final and semi-final just earlier in the week and capped it off with a runners-up trophy.

During the trophy presentation ceremony, Pegula made sure to pay tribute to her opponent, stating: “Last time we played was a battle and this one was as well. You’re really talented and I told you your ranking is going to go up. You told me it’s your first final but I’m sure there will be many more.”

But it wasn’t just in front of the cameras that the 29-year-old was going out of her way to help and praise the Chinese player.

In a Webo post, Yuan gave details about just how much the American went above and beyond to make her feel comfortable.

“First time entering the top eight of a WTA event, first time entering top four of a WTA event. I reached the final, although I failed to win the title in the end, it should still be commemorated,” she wrote.

The world No 106 added: “Miss Pegula is really nice. When she saw that no one was warming up with me, even though she can play with the coach, she took the initiative to ask me if I want to do some activities together.”

Yue looked a little lost during the trophy ceremony and once again Pegula stood up.

“She asked me to come over and take pictures together and asked the photographer to stay a little longer to take a few more pictures of me alone. She also encouraged me after the game.”

Pegula, who has Korean roots as her mother Kim – one of the principal owners of NFL giants the Buffalo Bills – was born in Seoul, also reserved special praise for the Korean fans during her on-court speech.

“My mom is Korean and she was adopted from here so it’s really special to be able to win here,” Pegula said.

“In the last few years, as my ranking has gone up, I’ve definitely felt so much more support from the fans, a lot more than I expected coming back here from five years ago. So it’s really special.”

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