Andy Roddick Spills Beans on Jessica Pegula’s Scary Injury That Put French Open Participation Under Threat

In spite of having a decent start to her season this year, Jessica Pegula has to “work back into training at a snail’s pace” as she had a bad injury lately. This American WTA star missed the entire Middle East swing due to a neck problem. Then again, she injured herself just ahead of the Madrid Open. While she was last seen in action at the BJK Cup qualifiers in April, she will possibly miss both the Rome Open and the French Open this year. However, till now, we didn’t have any information about what type of injury she had until Andy Roddick entered the scene and shared some insights. So, what happened to her exactly?

Well, Andy Roddick, on a recent conversation at the ‘Tennis Channel Live Podcast’ revealed that he had a chat with Pegula a couple of weeks ago and during their chat, he came to know that, “It’s actually a rib injury.” He further went on to add, “Listen if we’re being very honest about this, Jesse Pegula’s upside on clay is less than it’s on every other surface. If you’re trying to get healthy, get fit, Jesse Pegula’s game is fantastic for grass.” On that note, Jessica Pegula recently released an update stating, “Hi guys – quick update – will miss Rome and possibly RG. I actually feel really good but have to work back into training at a snail’s pace.”  

Andy Roddick then highlighted Pegula’s incredible performance in the QF match at the 2023 Wimbledon Championships. Although she lost the match, Pegula gave a tough fight to her opponent in that match. Roddick believes her game on the grass is completely on another level than any other surface.

So, he rather thinks that, “Let’s get healthy, let’s attack the rest of the season.” Getting fit ahead of the mega event on the grass court remains the key for Jessica Pegula according to the 41-year-old American tennis legend. Jessica Pegula recently celebrated her 100 consecutive weeks in the Top 10 of WTA rankings. She is currently placed in the fifth spot with 4655 points. Marketa Vondrousova 6) is now breathing down her neck with 4090 points. Jessica Pegula needs to get fit quickly and get back to her winning tracks. Talking about tracks, a rumor spread a few months ago that Andy Roddick has changed tracks and may soon become the new coach of Jessica Pegula.

“I don’t think she needs anyone to dictate her” – Andy Roddick on coaching Jessica Pegula

Earlier this year, during a conversation on an episode of ‘A New Spin on Tennis’, Roddick revealed, “I think all I did with Jess and all I have done we will continue, we will just ask questions that she knows the answers to already. Right, I don’t think she needs anyone to dictate to her what needs to happen right now.” Jessica Pegula currently has a 14-6 win-loss record for this season. It will be interesting to see how quickly she can make a comeback this season.

During that same interview, Andy Roddick went on to add, “She’s three in the world – four in the world right now. So I think she is excited about being curious about different parts of her game.” Holding her Top 5 spot will be the real challenge for Pegula this season.

Even if she does recover ahead of the French Open, the biggest question will be: Can she fully fit to step onto the challenging courts of Paris?