Jessica Pegula has lifted the lid on her mental anguish during a bumpy 2024 campaign, after achieving her best-ever Grand Slam run by reaching the US Open final against Aryna Sabalenka.
The Belarusian won in Flushing Meadows, after Pegula had broken her duck having reached seven separate Major quarter-finals only to be denied on each occasion.
The American had not reached the heights of previous years in 2024, crashing out of the Australian Open and Wimbledon in the second round. She did not play in Roland Garros due to injury, but bounced back in style in New York.
The world No. 3 missed four of the first six WTA Tour 1000 tournaments due to neck and rib injuries, which prompted her to consider whether her season would be cut short, only to recover and sit fifth in the race to the WTA Finals.
“I know it was always possible, you can get hot, but that wasn’t necessarily on my radar,” Pegula told the WTA. “Obviously, there were a lot of doubts. But I trusted that the work I was doing and the mentality would come back.
“I think at the end of the day I decided to try and trust the process, trust the training. Just because I missed half the year doesn’t mean I forgot how to play at a top level. There’s so many things I’m really proud of.
“I had a lot of anxiety. I wasn’t feeling great. But slowly [the confidence] was able to build back a little bit.”
Pegula has continued to go through a range of emotions since suffering a 7-5, 7-5 defeat on home soil to Sabalenka, coming ever-so-close to the pinnacle of American tennis only to be denied.
“You were so close to calling yourself a champion and now you’re calling yourself a finalist,” Pegula explained. “And that kind of sucks. But at the same time, I broke through a lot of barriers. After being upset for a couple of days, you come to the conclusion — everyone talking to you about it and telling you: ‘No, it was a really great match’.
“At the end, I’m at acceptance and appreciating the moment itself.”
Pegula has been back in action for the first time since her US Open run, downing Diane Parry in her first match at the China Open.
And the 30-year-old is delighted that her physical issues appear to be in the past and she can focus on closing out the season on a positive note.
“I’m not as worn out as I have been in the past,” Pegula continued. “I’m a little bit fresher than other people. I’m happy that it worked out. I can’t say I planned it that way.
“I believed coming back from injury, I’ve always come back better every time I’ve gotten hurt. Every time I’ve been out, I’ve come back and done better, been ranked higher than I was before. I think leaning on that past experience helped me.”
Content Source: www.express.co.uk