After a long-sustained injury, all a sportsperson desires is to focus on the game. However, fate had other plans for Jessica Pegula. The American tennis star, who recuperated recently, has made a victorious return to the courts. But Pegula’s comeback isn’t just marked by victory; it’s shrouded in controversy as well. 

A promising season for American player Jessica Pegula was sidelined by a frustrating injury. The 30-year-old had been on a strong run, reaching the quarterfinals or better in three of her last four tournaments, including impressive semifinal finishes in Charleston and San Diego. Unfortunately, lingering pain in her ribs intensified after competing in the Billie Jean King Cup.

Disrupted sleep and breathing difficulties prompted an MRI and multiple doctor visits. The diagnosis: cartilage irritation in her rib cage, with a potential risk of developing a stress fracture. This setback forced Pegula to pause her progress just as she was gaining momentum. This made her withdraw from the European Clay Court and she missed the Madrid Open, the Italian Open, and eventually the French Open. However, despite missing WTA 1000 tournaments and the Grand Slam, her ranking did not see a change. 

While her absence from the game was all set to take her down in the WTA ranking table, the long-term injury-exception rules helped her retain her position. As per WTA rules, a long-term injury is when a player fails to appear in any professional matches for 8 weeks due to health conditions. Pegula, who completed her eight weeks on June 2, gained from this particular rule and managed to retain her spot.

During her injury-led absence, the American star gained no points from WTA 1000 events. However, this gap in her record was mitigated by the points she earned from non-countable tournaments, as they were considered due to her injury. Jessica had accumulated a total of 205 points from the Cincinnati Open and the Eastbourne Tournament. These points, according to WTA rules, were factored into her ranking.

This led to a stir within the tennis community with people demonstrating their resentment on social media platforms. Without these 205 points, Jessica would have lost her position to Marketa Vondrousova, who stands just 122 points below her. Meanwhile, Jessica Pegula seems to be playing it all safe!

“It’s just such a crazy year with the Olympics squeezed in. With my game, I’d rather be ready for grass and the rest of the hard-court season and grind out the rest of the year, than try and push it for clay and it doesn’t feel well. That’s why we played it safe.”

Soon after her return, Jessica made a sensational comeback as she defeated Sasnovich in straight sets on her at the Libema Open/Rosmalen Grass Court Championships on Tuesday. While Pegula has so far not made any remarks over the matter, she has been vocal when surrounded by controversy.

When Jessica Pegula slammed The Times

In the 2023 Wimbledon, Jessica Pegula lost in three sets to Marketa Vondrousova in the quarterfinals. What followed was an article in The Times, that questioned her skills and aligned it with her family wealth. 

Since it was the sixth time when Jessica reached the Quarterfinals and failed to proceed further, The Times also chose to use a headline that represents the scenario. “Six quarter-finals, six defeats: Jessica Pegula needs dynamic that family billions can’t buy,” the headlines read. The article claimed that the tennis star lacks the hunger for the win and hence, is unable to secure one.

The 29-year-old responded sarcastically to the message and took to her social media expressing her anger. Pegula fired back on X (formerly Twitter), writing, “I’ll tell you what I won’t buy is this [trash] article,” adding a laughing emoji.

With Wimbledon once again around the corner, it will be interesting to see if Pegula battles through her injury aftermath and achieve bigger in the Grand Slam.