Everybody talks about a player’s performance during major tennis titles, but few understand how surreal the experience can be. Jessica Pegula can certainly attest to that! Although she didn’t win any titles last year, she reached the finals of the 2024 US Open, showcasing her incredible talent against Aryna Sabalenka. Despite the loss, Pegula cherishes the memory of walking onto Flushing Meadows last September.

During her run at the US Open, Pegula defeated then-World No. 1 Iga Swiatek and Karolina Muchova in the quarterfinals and semifinals, respectively, before facing Sabalenka. Despite a hard-fought match, she lost 7-5, 7-5. 4 months down the line, in a January 4th press conference ahead of the Adelaide International, where she is competing in doubles with Ashlyn Krueger, Pegula reflected on her US Open journey.

When asked if the experience still felt fresh and motivating, she replied, “Yeah, definitely. It’s funny how it feels like so long ago, but also feels like last week at the same time. Tennis is weird like that.” Sounds crazy, right? That’s tennis for you – totally unique. She was basically saying the sport has this weird way of making time feel both super long and super short.

The defeat was tough for Pegula, who had waited a long time for that moment. However, reaching the final was a significant achievement for her. She expressed that it serves as motivation for this year: “It’s definitely a motivation for me to want to do well this year and keep going for my goals and everything that I’ve set out for myself this year. But yeah, it’s still a nice, fresh memory I feel like in my mind. Hopefully, it stays that way I think to keep the motivation going.”

Currently participating in Adelaide, Pegula initially planned to compete at the Brisbane International but withdrew due to a knee injury from the 2024 WTA Finals. Nevertheless, she remains optimistic and draws strength from her US Open experience while cheering on her fellow Americans, who recently clinched the United Cup for Team USA!

Pegula shows her support to her fellow American players

Last week, Coco Gauff led Team USA to a thrilling victory in the United Cup quarterfinals, starting with a hard-fought win over China’s Zhang Shuai. Following her, World No. 4 Taylor Fritz secured a decisive victory against Zhang Zhizhen, putting the Americans in a commanding position. The team completed a clean sweep with mixed doubles win by Desirae Krawczyk and Robert Galloway. Gauff celebrated the success on Instagram with photos alongside teammate Jessica Pegula.

Just after reaching the United Cup semis for the second consecutive year, Coco shared her joy on social media: “thank you perth❤️! starting off 2025 strong by heading into the final four of @unitedcuptennis 🦅💪🏾 see you soon sydney 🫡.” Pegula chimed in with her own support, posting “🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸” to show pride in their nation’s performance. The path to United Cup glory continues as Team USA awaits the winner of Italy vs. Czechia in the semifinals.

In other news, American tennis faced an emotional moment when Denis Kudla announced his retirement from professional tennis after an unexpected farewell match at the United Cup. He expressed gratitude for his journey in the sport through an emotional Instagram post. Pegula revealed she helped him craft that message, saying, “I made the post 😢 Incredible career Denis!! Glad got to watch @des_krawczyk11 peg you in the head last night in possibly one of your last matches haha.”

With such camaraderie and support among players, American tennis is set for an exciting 2025 season!