Wimbledon 2024: Jessica Pegula’s Stoic and Breath-Taking Feat Puts Her Notches Above Coco Gauff and Iga Swiatek

On the well-kept grass of Wimbledon, Jessica Pegula stands poised and ready to make an inedible mark! Struggling with injuries for almost two months, the former World No. 3 made a return on grass! Ready to begin her run in the Eastbourne International, Pegula is aiming for another title on grass! As soon as her current run ends, the Wimbledon begins! Pegula, who has an amazing winning streak against most of the WTA players, like Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff, is ready to show the world why she belongs at the top!

Jessica Pegula, who is still seeking her first grand slam, has weathered every court with utmost determination and resilience. Especially when it comes to defeating the top 10 WTA players in the world, where the 30-year-old player has an astounding record. Sharing a glimpse of it, a tennis fan brought to light the No. 1 doubles player’s victories against the top 10 players since Montreal 2023.

Standing opposite of the World No. 1, Iga Swiatek, the four-time singles title winner, Pegula has been the victor once. She also proved herself against the World No. 2, Coco Gauff, winning each of their three recent meetings.

Pegula’s head-to-head with Swiatek paints another picture. With Swiatek leading with 9-3 over Pegula, the 23-year-old has comparatively struggled on the grass courts. Nevertheless, her prowess on-court helped her win 9 matches in Wimbledon, as opposed to 4 defeats. However, Pegula and Swiatek have not progressed beyond the quarterfinal in Wimbledon so far!

Although, in doubles, they swing their racquets together, they are fierce rivals when standing against each other. When it comes to the fast courts of Wimbledon, unlike Pegula, Gauff has never reached the quarterfinals since her debut in 2021. Next up is Aryna Sabalenka!

Although Jessica Pegula has defeated Sabalenka only once since Montreal (in the WTA Finals), Sabalenka’s semifinal run in Wimbledon last year proved that she is a force to be reckoned with! But will she be able to win against Pegula (6-4 led by Sabalenka) this year? The tennis world waits to see.  

Not to forget the World No. 4 and the 2022 Wimbledon winner, Elena Rybakina, who also experienced a defeat against Pegula in the WTA Finals last year. However, Rybakina, with three titles so far in this season, is in fantastic form this year! A clash at Wimbledon will be an interesting bout as the victor is hard to predict. Last but not least, Pegula also overcame World No. 9 Maria Sakkari in the 2023 WTA Finals. 

As the trend suggests, the American player is already one step ahead in her pursuit of excellence at Wimbledon. After all, being undefeated by most of the top players in the world is indeed something to consider in this case. However, last year’s scenario was a bit different, as she couldn’t get past the quarterfinals. Nevertheless, her on-court interview revealed her optimism about her gameplay.

Jessica Pegula’s reaction after reaching the quarterfinals in Wimbledon last year

Last year, Jessica Pegula finished her Wimbledon run against the eventual champion Marketa Vondrousova with a score of 4-6, 6-2, 4-6. However, she created reached a personal best and became the fifth American woman in the last 25 years to reach the quarterfinals of all four majors. After achieving the feat, she said, “That was great… I came out playing really well, exactly how I wanted to play and I was just trying to ride that momentum as well as I could.” 

This year, she didn’t perform after her Stuttgart Open match owing to her injuries and even withdrew from the Italian Open and the French Open, too. However, with Wimbledon and the Olympics coming ahead, Pegula is back with new vigor on-court!