ROLAND GARROS

June 2, 2025

Jessica Pegula

Press Conference

L. BOISSON/J. Pegula

3-6, 6-4, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: Obviously not the result you would want today, but how was it playing out there, especially with the French crowd?

JESSICA PEGULA: Yeah, I mean, it was a really great atmosphere. I felt like the crowd was really good. They were being, you know, supportive, but I felt respectful at the same time. It was a really nice atmosphere.

Yeah, I mean, I think it definitely helped her kind of pull through at certain parts that were really tough there, and, yeah, just I guess disappointed with the result, but it is what it is.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. Obviously a few times you could have gotten back in that third set. What do you think was happening on those shots that didn't go your way?

JESSICA PEGULA: Yeah, it was tough. It was windy. She was hitting a lot of just really high balls, low slices. You have to commit to your shots, and if you don't commit, then you miss them or maybe she gets a chance to be offensive, and it was, like, I was walking that line the entire match, but specifically even more kind of at the end of the second and into the third.

Yeah, I mean, I guess I could have been maybe a little bit more aggressive, but at the same time you're trying to make her play and stuff like that.

So it's kind of like that back-and-forth battle kind of going on in your head.

Q. When you're playing a player that's sort of inexperienced, hasn't been up here before, I imagine you haven't seen much video of her or could do much scouting of her because she's so unknown. What sort of challenges does that present to you, and what did it present to you?

JESSICA PEGULA: Yeah, I think you just don't know too maybe how they're going to play in the pressure moments or big points as much.

But I think we had enough footage of her. She's won several matches here, so we had a pretty good idea of what was going to happen. It's not like I was surprised by any chance, but I think it always makes it a little difficult, because they just don't have a ton of matches, and you maybe don't know how they're playing certain points or certain matches a certain way or how they play against certain players and stuff like that.

I felt like this week we kind of had a pretty good idea, to be honest.

Q. So how do you size her up? What did surprise you about what she brought to the court?

JESSICA PEGULA: I mean, I honestly don't think I was that surprised by how she played. I felt like the match turned into exactly how she wanted to play, and that's unfortunate for me.

I think I did a good job in the first set, but at the same time, she definitely served better. I felt like the first set she missed every dropshot, and then the second and third she made every single one, and I didn't really do a good job with those points.

But I felt like she, honestly, played how I thought she would play. Look for forehands, hit super high, super heavy, you know, at times. Again, I had a million chances and it just didn't go my way in those kind of big moments.

Q. I think this is your first time playing a French player here and obviously in that kind of close match to the atmosphere, so what was it like as a cultural experience?

JESSICA PEGULA: Yeah, I think once the match kind of got going, at the beginning it wasn't that much, but then the end of the second and the third, it was, like, a full stands and obviously for her. So, I mean, it was a great atmosphere.

You know, like I said, I didn't feel like they were being disrespectful at all. I felt like it was a really fun and good atmosphere. You know, obviously for her, but at the same time, it was great. I thought it was really nice.

Q. Could you describe her heavy forehand? I think it's maybe her strength here.

JESSICA PEGULA: Yeah, I mean, all she wants to do is hit forehands. She's really good at moving. She's really fast, so she's really good at running around to get her forehand and, you know, also covering the forehand side.

Yeah, she hits it pretty heavy. I mean, super high and heavy when she wants to, when she needs to get back in the point, and then she's able to use her dropshot and slice. She's really quick.

I think it keeps her in a lot of points, and I think she did that really well today.

Q. Have you been impressed by your opponent's performance today? What level do you think she can reach in the future?

JESSICA PEGULA: Yeah, I mean, again, she played really well. She's, I think, won a lot of matches it seems like recently, even if it's at a lower level and not a WTA level, but it doesn't really matter when you're winning matches and the way she plays, being tough in those moments really helps. I thought she did a good job of that today.

Yeah, I mean, she plays like that, I mean, I think she'll do well, especially on the clay. I don't know how she does on other surfaces. I have no idea, but I would imagine clay is definitely going to be her best surface.

Q. Clay court season over. Since you live in the U.S., clay court season, it's kind of a little bit long way away from your home, and I know you have been doing this for long, but this year we have a back-to-back two weeks Masters tournament, Madrid and Rome. So can you talk a little bit about how that kind of road is tough for you, or it doesn't matter for you or not?

JESSICA PEGULA: No, yeah, I'm not a fan of the two-week tournaments. I think it makes everything super, really long. Grand Slams is already really long, and so now to do two weeks Madrid, two weeks Rome, and then two weeks here is really, really tough, but that's the way it is now.

Of course, it's always better when you're winning a lot of matches, because the days and the weeks go by much faster. If you're losing somewhat earlier or in the first week and then you're seeded and you don't play until really late in the next week, that can be kind of tough. It just gets tough being on the site and traveling in between tournaments. You're just kind of Groundhog Day, trying to train, you know, the usual.

I feel like it kind of depends how you do. It's been a little tough this year for me because Madrid and Rome didn't go particularly amazing. You know, I won some matches, but again, the weeks kind of in between get kind of long, which is why I played Strasbourg.

It's a tough kind of stretch for the Americans, for sure.

Q. I have another question about her forehand. I was looking at the stat, and you played a lot of balls in her forehand, much more than the previous opponent. I was wondering if it was a tactic for you maybe to go on the forehand and to finish the point on the other side on the backhand? Was it a tactic or...

JESSICA PEGULA: I don't know. Maybe that was my problem (smiling), because that's not really what I was trying to do.

But, I mean, she makes it really tough. When she's hitting high and heavy, it's not that easy to change the direction back to her backhand. If you kind of got stuck, I was trying to, like, move her to the forehand and then move her to the backhand, which I thought I did pretty well, like, for majority of the match, just, again, not well enough on the big points. When I was getting up in games, it just kind of wasn't doing it.

Yeah, I don't know, maybe that seems like maybe that was an issue.