THE CHAMPIONSHIPS

July 2, 2024

Jessica Pegula

Press Conference

J. PEGULA/A. Krueger

6-2, 6-0

THE MODERATOR: Jessica, how were you feeling out on court today?

JESSICA PEGULA: Yeah, feeling really good. I'm happy I got through before the rain came. That's always a bonus, especially here.

Feeling really good that I played a solid match.

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. You raced through your match today in 49 minutes. I'm assuming you have some early lunch plans today.

JESSICA PEGULA: Tee time to get to (smiling).

No, I think with the grass, it's really important to play every single point because you get a weird bounce, you get a let cord, you get someone serving well, it can switch, I feel like, so fast both ways.

I knew she can serve well. She's a big hitter. I just didn't want to give her any chance. Even if I was down in a return game, I wanted her to make -- it's going to really tough for you to hold every game, I don't want to give away free points.

I think that's important always, but especially on the grass. So I just did my best. Luckily, yeah, it seemed to go my way today.

Q. Talking of a big serve, I was wondering how much of that is due to the prematch preparation you did of studying her versus on court just trusting your reflexes?

JESSICA PEGULA: It's a little bit of both. I think you do your best to prepare. I mean, I know her fairly decent as well. I know that I think, thought at least, that she kind of likes the slice serve a little bit more.

I feel like a lot of times girls, also on grass it's the better serve, my forehand return I feel like sometimes, I mean, it can be good, but maybe I make a few more errors on that side, but it's more dangerous.

I thought she would kind of start that way. I wanted to take that away at the beginning of the match. It definitely comes down to a lot of prep.

I've played several matches where maybe it starts off that way and then they change it up because they realize it's not working. At the same time I think you have to adapt and just be aware of where they're going, but also be aware of where they're serving a lot, especially early on, especially on big points, or when they're down in a game, what's their favorite serve. You kind of want to just keep that in the back of your mind sometimes for bigger moments throughout the match.

Q. I was going to ask on the kind of injury comeback, you have to be quite patient about it. How hard is it to have that kind of patience? Does that get easier as you get more experienced to have that patience?

JESSICA PEGULA: Yeah, I mean, it was hard. I have always, like, prided myself as being very healthy the last two or three years. I think that's been a big reason why I've done so well. I've been able to play a lot. Obviously you guys know that.

It was a little tough because I've come back from injuries before, but at the same time it's always tough to, like, come back, and you don't really know where your game is at. You see girls winning tournaments, winning slams. You see the top players already doing well. You kind of wonder where your level is at a little bit.

I think I just had to kind of remind myself, I obviously was very patient with my injury, I didn't want to come back too fast, which is a tough decision to make.

But also I've always done pretty well when I come back from injury. I think I've come back from a lot worse injuries and I've always managed to do better throughout those years.

As far as ranking and results-wise, I don't know if I'm going to actually do better from this one just because I'm already ranked much higher than before.

I think I just kind of took that in the back of my mind. I think it's just perspective, using it as, Okay, I'm going to come into Europe a lot more fresh, a lot healthier, than going through the whole Europe swing from the clay. I'm going to be ready for the Olympics and the hard courts and the rest of the year.

I was looking at it as more of a positive, and I think that helped.

Q. In the last seven Wimbledons, there have been seven different women's champions. What are your thoughts about that?

JESSICA PEGULA: Yeah, I mean, Wimbledon, the grass court season isn't very long. I think it's just players who can adapt. There's some players that just play really well here. Maybe you don't see it as much because it's a special surface in that way.

I think it just goes to show you that anything can happen. There's a lot of depth. Yeah, it's interesting. I think a lot of girls get excited a little bit at that fact. You have a chance if you can play well here these two weeks. I think it makes us all a little bit more excited.

Q. As far as hope for everybody across the board who is a contending player in general, how do you think it affects it?

JESSICA PEGULA: What do you mean?

Q. The optimism. You mentioned it makes people excited. How about the optimism to go all the way?

JESSICA PEGULA: Yeah. I mean, it's exciting. I mean, again, grass is tricky. I feel like when you have a feel for it, sometimes you're moving well, you're reading it well, maybe you're mixing in a lot of the shots well. Whenever I see someone on a run, it's because I think they embrace the challenge of grass, maybe are a little patient.

It's just a different surface, where it's not as straightforward. I think when you see players coming through that are reading things well, that are serving really well, that are really good at the net, maybe more crafty players, that's where it pays off a little bit more these two weeks than any other kind of slam.

I think that's when you see players kind of break through. Optimism-wise, I'm very optimistic that hopefully I can do well. I know a lot of other girls, too.

I think every year is different for players with grass. Some players don't like it. Some years they fall in love with it because they do well. I think it's kind of a mental thing a little bit, too.

Q. I hate to ask you to look ahead beyond Wimbledon. This year presents unique challenges because you go from here, back to the clay, then you have to prepare for the US Open in a much shorter time because of the Olympics. What are your thoughts, since you have been out, going into the hard court season? More importantly, is that Wimbledon grass on your nails?

JESSICA PEGULA: What do you mean, the green? Yeah, for Wimby. It's a nice color. I got the purple watch. A friend made me the bracelet (smiling).

Yeah, I'm really looking forward to the Olympics. I mean, I know it's a packed year, it always is with Olympics, especially it seems like this year because we're going from grass to clay to hard.

I think that I transition pretty quickly. You don't really have a choice. I mean, obviously it's not ideal for me to go play Olympics if you do pretty well, I have to come back and I'm defending Toronto. That's not maybe the perfect preparation.

At the same time, I mean, for me, even though Olympics may not be the same level to me as winning a Grand Slam, I still think it's a really amazing experience. Coming from playing the Tokyo COVID year, it definitely was not an Olympic experience. Several other Olympians that went were like, This is not the Olympics, you need to come back and try again.

I'm really excited to play I think something that's special. Maybe tennis, it's a little bit different. But to me it's even cooler that we get to kind of play an event that feels so much different compared to the slams.

Again, I've said many times I always love team events. I love watching all of them. I love learning from them, the men, the women. Hopefully I can at least take the experience and energy, the positivity from that week of being all around a really great group and kind of use that to help me get better and hopefully do well into the hard court season.

Yeah, it's not the greatest prep. At the same time, I mean, I'm super excited. I think it will be really fun to be around especially other athletes and hopefully talk to some of them, see what they go through. For them, that's the biggest thing, right, in their sport. It's pretty cool and special to be around.

Q. Do you remember your first US Open match in 2019?

JESSICA PEGULA: I think we've talked about it before. You told me about it. I don't really remember.

Q. Alize Cornet.

JESSICA PEGULA: Was that my first main draw?

Q. Yes.

JESSICA PEGULA: I got killed. I got crushed. I think I hadn't won a main draw. It took me a very long time, but we got there eventually. I do remember now that you say. I thought it was Cornet. I was talking about it the other day. I couldn't remember, but yeah.

Q. You spoke on court about your growing confidence on grass, obviously with your win in Berlin last month. How do you assess your own hopes for the next two weeks? Do you let yourself dream this could be the one?

JESSICA PEGULA: Yeah, I mean, I think you have to put in your mind that you're here to win matches. I'm not really one to be like, I'm going to win Wimbledon. Like, I'm not telling myself that in the mirror over and over again. Maybe some people are different and that's what they like to do.

I think it's me, just belief in every single match, maybe not getting too ahead of myself. I think at the same time it's hard not to when you're here, you feel how special it is, you see all the pictures of the past champions, even from last year. You get the sense that it feels much bigger. It's hard to escape that, I feel, like here. A lot of players do kind of say they get more nervous here playing at Wimbledon than anywhere else because it's different and it feels special.

You do feel that a little bit, but at the same time, at least for me, it's the same answer. It's like one match at a time because I feel like that's what's next.

It's nice to be able to get through today, but at the same time I'm looking forward to the next challenge. You just kind of have to take it day by day, especially in a two-week event.

Q. Around Wimbledon, are there things you like to do when you're not playing, places you go?

JESSICA PEGULA: Uhm... Not really. Nothing crazy, no. I did an escape room a few days ago with my sister. That's not really a tradition. It's just we were bored. I haven't gone into the city that much, actually at all this year.

No, I don't really have any traditions. I like to go and get coffee, walk and find a coffee shop maybe. This year I just bought the grounds and I'm making it at home.

I don't really have a ton of Wimby traditions.

Q. Where was the escape room?

JESSICA PEGULA: It was in Kingston, some shopping mall kind of deal next to the train station.

We actually crushed it. It was me and her, another player, Desirae Krawczyk. We got out. It was only three of us. We were a little nervous. We were like, Ooh, three, it's a little light. We actually crushed it. I don't know, maybe I'll go do another one tonight to keep the momentum.

Q. I know you're someone who likes to make predictions. What did you make of the bottom half of the draw which is very wide open, no one left has reached the semifinals here before?

JESSICA PEGULA: Yeah, I saw that stat. I haven't actually seen it, I hate looking at it online. I like the old school paper. They're never around that much anymore. I like to look at it that way.

There were some matches, obviously it's a crazy stat, that's what happens. All three girls were in the bottom?

Q. Sabalenka, Azarenka pulled out.

JESSICA PEGULA: What about Alexandrova? Was she in the bottom, too?

Q. But she has not reached a semifinal.

JESSICA PEGULA: That's crazy. She's a very good grass court player.

Yeah, it's a big opportunity for somebody to step up, I guess. We'll see if it's maybe some girls with some experience or if it's somebody new.

I haven't really looked at it that much yet. I need to see it on paper. Yeah, actually I picked Brenda Fruhvirtova to win yesterday. That was my special pick, and she won. I was like, Oh, that was a good pick by me.

Yeah, I've looked at some matches, but I need to look at the draw to really see it.

Q. Why did you pick Brenda?

JESSICA PEGULA: Because they're the same age, and I know that at least when I was that age or whenever, it's different when you're playing girls and you have nothing to lose, there's girls older than you. Then all of a sudden you play somebody that's pretty good, that's coming up that's also your age, sometimes it can just be different.

I think also to that point for her, she probably wasn't the underdog really for the first time since she's probably been on tour. I'm sure that was a little bit of a different experience for her, so yeah.