AUSTRALIAN OPEN

January 15, 2025

Jessica Pegula

Press Conference

J. PEGULA/E. Mertens

6-4, 6-2

THE MODERATOR: Jess, pretty businesslike today. Your thoughts on your match?

JESSICA PEGULA: Yes, really good match today. Played strategically perfect, really smart. Just kind of executed exactly what I wanted to do to beat a player like Elise. Really happy with today's performance.

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Curious what you thought when you saw the schedule? Do you mind playing at 11 a.m.? Do you prefer playing at night or somewhere in between? What is your ideal time?

JESSICA PEGULA: I like being first on. I think we started at 11:30, actually. I like being first on. I think you can kind of have a set schedule. You don't have to wait. Definitely don't have to wait for any men's matches, especially being at a slam.

First round same thing, we went on right at 5 because there weren't many matches on that court. Yeah, I mean, I like having a set schedule. You kind of know. You don't have, like, this lingering anxiety waiting throughout the day of what's going to happen, all this stuff.

I always love being kind of first on and done.

Q. In terms of the time of day, the conditions, how the weather shifts over the course of a day, how much do you find that affects things, or that doesn't matter as much?

JESSICA PEGULA: I mean, yeah, if a day kind of lingers on and on, conditions can change drastically, especially here in Melbourne.

Like I said, I kind of always like knowing what's going to be happening at that time. Sometimes it can get later, can get heavier, can get hotter, all these elements that kind of factor in. Maybe if you warmed up much earlier, it was really hot and sunny. All of a sudden it's humid and rainy or cold and rainy, which can happen here.

It takes a lot of variables out. Usually when you warm up for first on, you know what the conditions are going to be like when you step on the court. The other way around, it can definitely change. Like I said, just different variables that you kind of don't want to deal with.

Q. Bigger picture. We're seeing more players now who maybe peak a bit later. There are fewer players who break through when they're super young. Why do you think there's been that shift over the last five or so years?

JESSICA PEGULA: People peaking later?

Q. Or just more that there are fewer players who are exploding as teenagers. Coco aside, obviously.

JESSICA PEGULA: Yeah, yeah. I mean, there's still a few, I feel like. Every time I think they're not that young, there's always a 16-year-old that pops in and does something. You're like, Oh, no, it's still happening.

I just think the sport, there's a lot more longevity in the sport. Also just a lot more people playing, a lot more girls, more athletes playing. I think that it's just creating the longevity of the sport to be longer.

I think people are taking care of their bodies more. I think you just see that people aren't maybe pushing as hard when they're younger, knowing they have a lot of time to play. Or you see girls later on in their career that will play maybe an extra five years and have those breakthrough moments for a year or two or a tournament, whatever it is, because they know they don't feel like they have to retire at 30 years old.

It's a big shift. But I do think maybe people, too, are a little bit more protective of how much girls are playing when they're younger, as well, injuries and stuff like that.

I think back in the day, there was probably less people to pick from, as well, as far as talent, because not as many people played tennis. Now there's so much, so it's probably harder to break through at a young age.

Maybe a little bit, like I said, protection of girls not having to play massive events so young, and then also becoming huge stars so young. Whether it was the crop of players or the amount of tournaments they were playing, that kind of, I feel like, launched a lot of really young 15-, 16-year-olds into the best players in the world.

It's a lot of different things like that.

Q. Were those factors in your mind when you decided to start pro a little bit later?

JESSICA PEGULA: Yeah. I also don't think I was good enough (smiling). I think I definitely peaked a little bit later. Didn't really figure out how to win matches until everything kind of came a little bit later for me.

But I think I knew, too, there wasn't like a rush. Kind of when I started doing better, you did start seeing girls doing better a little bit later on, which I think was really comforting because from before, I mean, yeah, if you weren't like 16 and No. 1 in the world, it wasn't going to work (smiling).

It definitely helps mentally knowing you don't have to rush, especially when you're a junior or teenager.

Q. We just had Aryna in. She's looking for that three in a row. Can you explain what it is that makes playing her so tough and so different from the rest of the players?

JESSICA PEGULA: Yeah, I mean, she's got a great serve. Before she used to have a big serve, but now much more control, much more consistent. That variable that you kind of hope would go off doesn't really seem to go off as much anymore.

I think her movement's gotten a lot better. Obviously she's a super power player, can take the racquet out of your hands sometimes.

I've noticed she's starting mixing in a lot more slices, dropshot, coming to the net. She's really, really gotten a lot better as a player. I think that's why you're seeing these results. She's improved a lot in a lot of different aspects. Credit to her and her team.

Before I felt like when I would play her, you would always tend to know something would kind of break down, whether it was her movement or her hands or her serve, whatever. Now that's not happening as much. If one thing breaks down, she has maybe something else in her tool shed that she can now start incorporating that you weren't really expecting.

I think she's just become a really, really complete player, but also has that power game where she can be really aggressive and take the match from you, which I think is why she gets hot for a week or two. It can be really tough, so...

I think she's, yeah, just a really complete player right now.

Q. How much after a match like today's do you look at statistics from the match, or do you have a coach who says to look at this number, let's work on this?

JESSICA PEGULA: Yeah, I haven't really quite looked at the stats yet. My coach is into that, and he'll be able to relay the info. I'm sure if I go look at the highlights, the match stats on my phone, I could see a couple things I would look at that would maybe jump out.

I played a really solid match today, so I think my stats will be very good. But yeah, I definitely always check just to see, you know, maybe something I was doing that I didn't notice.

You always think maybe something isn't as bad as it seems, but then they show the percentage. Oh, but you served this percentage here or there. It kind of hits you like, Okay, I guess you're right, I wasn't really serving as well, or whatever it is.

Yeah, I'll make sure that I look, but haven't quite really checked it out yet.

Q. Is it any different after a win versus a loss in terms of how much you'll look at it or have no desire to look at it?

JESSICA PEGULA: Yeah, if you lose, or even if you win a really tough match, you're like, Oh, my gosh, this girl was serving out of her mind. And you look, she was serving 85%. You're kind of like, I don't know, verifies in your mind that she was serving well.

Or maybe the opposite, yeah, she wasn't doing this that well. You see the stats, it's a totally different storyline.

It can give you a nice reality check. I think sometimes when you're out there, you have an idea of what you think is going on, what you think you're doing, but you're maybe really not doing that as well as you think.

Statistics can be really helpful, and it kind of cuts down all, like, the BS, just shows you straight up this is the facts of what happened. Yeah, I mean, after a win, I think you feel pretty good. Maybe if it's a tough win or a come-from-behind where you changed your strategy, you might look at stats.

If you lose, I feel like you probably look a little bit more just 'cause you're trying to figure out where it kind of went wrong. Maybe there was something you weren't doing correctly.