What Jessica Pegula and Caroline Garcia need to do to mount a serious challenge in 2023

James Richardson 27 Dec 2022 1:09 PM

Nine-time Wimbledon champion Martin Navratilova believes that Jessica Pegula and Caroline Garcia could be players to watch in 2023.

Navratilova believes that Pegula needs to work on serve while Garcia needs to avoid falling back into old habits to continue to makes waves on the WTA Tour.

Pegula rose to become the top-ranked US Woman in 2022, but Navratilova believes that she has to work too hard for her wins because of a weaker service game.

When asked what Pegula could do to break into the top strata of the game, Navratilova told WTATour.com: “Maybe the serve, work on that. She has to work so hard to win those points.

“Often times, it takes her longer to hold serve than her opponent.
“And it’s cumulative, right? It might not bother you in this match, but it might in the next. Overall, just winning points easier saves energy in the long-term.

“I would concentrate on more variety on the second serve and a little more power on the first serve. That’s where she could make the greatest improvement.”

Meanwhile, when it comes to Garcia, Navratilova believes that the only thing standing between her and a GrandSlam title is keeping her confidence up.

She feels that the French ATP Finals champion can beat anybody on her day given her range of strokes and all-court game.

“Terrific end to the year for a player who has all the shots in the book,” she said. “She wants it, though. She’s now believing she can do it.”

Garcia is part of a promising group of women threatening to win their first Grand Slam in 2023.

That group also includes American Coco Gauff, Belarus’ Aryna Sabalenka, Ons Jabeur and Maria Sakkari.

“She’s one of the very best athletes out there, on a par with Swiatek and Sakkari, Sabalenka and Coco Gauff,” Navratilova said.

“The obvious thing is that Garcia can’t fall off the map like she did before this past season. As we saw in the WTA Finals, when her game is on, she’s very hard to beat.

“[Aryna] Sabalenka should take this past year as a plus overall,” Navratilova explained when she touched on the world No. 5. “I think she’ll be a force.

“I wouldn’t put it past her to win a major because she seems to be more focused and mentally is making good progress.

“On a given day, maybe, but consistency-wise I don’t see anyone challenging Iga.”