Jessica Pegula Joins Serena Williams’ Rare Company as Historic Cincinnati Run Rewards Her With an Elite Status

Jessica Pegula has literally been unstoppable in the last few weeks. Her incredible run in Toronto while defending her title made her the first woman to win ten consecutive matches at the tournament since Serena Williams. She also became the first American woman to win the singles title since Williams in 2013. Now, even in Cincinnati, she’s replicating the same! Pegula has already secured a spot in the finals of the Cincinnati Masters and with this victory in the SF against Paula Badosa, she has yet again joined Williams in a historic feat.

Pegula is now the sixth player in the Open Era to reach the women’s singles final at the Canadian Open and Cincinnati Open in a calendar year. America’s Rosie Casals did it first in 1970 and then Evonne Goolagong did it twice (1972,1973). China’s Li Na accomplished this feat in 2012 but it took almost 43 years to get an American woman on that list.

Serena Williams became the fourth player to accomplish this extraordinary record in 2013. She was followed by the Romanian tennis star, Simona Halep (2015,2018). Now, with Jessica Pegula’s extraordinary run in Toronto and Cincinnati, she has also managed to put her name on the list. An American women’s tennis player after almost a gap of nine years!

Just before the SF clash, she was heard saying, “First, I couldn’t believe I was able to even have a chance to defend Toronto, and then now here, coming into this week, it’s pretty crazy, but amazing that I’ve been able to give myself that chance [to win both].” Pegula has struggled a lot in the past few months due to injuries and lack of form, but her resilience has been praiseworthy.

Evonne Goolagong Cawley (1973) is the only woman to win both events in the Open Era. It’ll be interesting to see if Pegula manages to break this record or not. What are her thoughts on these stats though, and how does she feel seeing her name beside these legends of the game?

How does Jessica Pegula feel to see her name beside legends of the game, like Serena Williams?

There have been multiple such moments when she suddenly found her name on the list that features Williams. For example, in 2022 when Pegula found that her name was mentioned in the same sentence as that of Serena Williams, she was literally stunned. It was a dream for Pegula to accomplish some of her feats and to see it coming true made JP express, “It’s crazy that in that realm I’m able to hit and be mentioned in the same statistics as her (Serena).”

She revealed that it was probably a milestone related to the Madrid Open. That was quite an ecstatic moment for her. Even when she came to know that she was the first American woman to win the singles title since Williams (2013), Jessica Pegula claimed that she was honored to be able to accomplish that.

Her reaction to getting featured on the list of six women to reach the finals of Toronto and Cincinnati was also noteworthy. She said, “I did not think I would be in a group with those names, but I’m so happy right now.” Do you think Pegula can create another historic moment in her career by winning the title on Monday? Share your thoughts in the comments.