US OPEN

August 31, 2025

Jessica Pegula

Press Conference

J. PEGULA/A. Li

6-1, 6-2

THE MODERATOR: Congratulations. Convincing win. Your thoughts?

JESSICA PEGULA: Very good match I think for me today. Probably the best match, honestly, I've played since, like, before Wimbledon I feel like from the start to finish. So that was encouraging.

Yeah, I was just hitting the ball, doing everything well, executing my strategy very well and, yeah, got through it pretty quick.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. To that point, as you were preparing to come to a tournament like this you want to do really well at, the summer is not necessarily going the way that you planned, I'm just curious how you were feeling coming into this tournament and maybe the relief that you feel to be first through?

JESSICA PEGULA: I felt terrible coming into this tournament, honestly. I had a practice Wednesday, and I literally -- I think I hit with Sabalenka. She killed me. I was playing terrible.

Then we went out for a second hour, and I stopped like halfway through the hour and was, like, I'm done, like, this isn't good. I don't know why I'm out here practicing.

It was hard, because that was the day after the mixed finish, so we were switching to different balls, and I was a little frustrated. The day was really cold and windy. I was, like, Yeah, I'm done for today. So I kind of walked off the court, like, not very happy.

Went and did an escape room with my friends and had, like, two drinks and was, like, I need to just chill and stop getting so frustrated and overthinking all these practices.

But, I mean, I played well in the mixed, so I think that helped. Besides that bad day, yeah, I hadn't really been playing some good tennis, and I didn't even feel like I was practicing very well for the last few weeks. It's been really tough.

Compared to last year, it's been like a complete 180 with how I felt, but after I think working my way into these matches and having some good, convincing wins, that's always going to give myself some confidence. So I'm really happy that today I felt a lot more like myself on court, which I think was the most important.

Q. Do you do a lot of escape rooms?

JESSICA PEGULA: Yeah, I do a lot of escape rooms.

Q. When you came in here at this point last year, I think you knew what we were going to ask.

JESSICA PEGULA: Oh, yeah (smiling), "What do you have to do to reach a semifinal," or something like that.

Q. How much it is a relief that we have to talk about something else now?

JESSICA PEGULA: It's so nice that you guys don't have to ask me that (laughing). I mean, no, it's, again, another quarterfinal, another second week of a major, and I'm just happy that I'm here.

Like I said, I haven't been feeling my best on court, so to be able to come back and make another quarterfinal here is something I'm definitely proud of. Of course, I want to go further and do more and win the tournament, but I feel like just on a personal kind of goal level, I'm happy with the way I've been able to kind of turn some of my tennis around the last few weeks.

I feel like playing my way into this tournament and being able to play one of my better matches in a fourth round is great, a great thing to happen, so...

Q. Your mixed double partner Jack Draper had to pull out, unfortunately, last week with an arm injury. Have you spoken to him? Can you just talk about the challenge as an elite player of trying to be fit and ready during a slam?

JESSICA PEGULA: I kind of knew his arm wasn't great. In the doubles he kind of alluded, like, maybe it wasn't 100% yet, but then obviously he played his first round.

Then I saw him and was talking to him, and then like an hour later he pulled out. So I just sent him a text and was, like, Hey, I'm so sorry, hope you are doing okay, hope you get healthy, and all that stuff. It's really tough. I mean, especially for the guys.

It seems like he gets injured a lot. I don't know. That is unfortunate when you can't stay healthy. That's something I feel like I've done well over the last three to four years and why everyone asks how I'm so consistent. It's because I've been able to stay relatively healthy and been able to play a lot of tennis.

Not everyone needs to play a ton of matches, but for me it definitely helps me and gives me a lot of confidence and helps with the consistency that I've been able to have over the last few years. That was always my issue when I was younger is I couldn't stay healthy.

So I definitely -- after my hip surgery, I definitely had kind of this, like, awakening moment where I -- one, rehab sucks, and I was, like, I cannot do this again. I have to do everything in my power to stay healthy, or else I'm never going to give myself a chance to go out there and compete.

So I really reworked my fitness, my nutrition. It wasn't that I was doing anything wrong before. I don't think I was the most professional in the sense that I didn't understand, like, all of the things I had to be doing or needed to be doing.

That was just something, I don't know, when I was younger -- nowadays you seek 13, 14-year-old girls. It's still instilled. They have a whole team. They have a physio. They have rehab. They have programs.

I don't know. I missed that gap or window or whatever it was. So I just didn't realize how much more I could be doing. So I definitely kind of had a rude awakening after that to be, like, okay, I really need to focus on this and invest in myself.

You know, that was kind of when my parents were still pretty involved in my tennis, and I kind of was, like, you know what, I'm going to make all my decision from now on, because I wanted that to be on me, and I wanted to really understand what I needed and my body and not really listen to anyone else.

I was, like, 24 at the time, so I felt like that was kind of really pivotal for me in terms of staying really healthy. I've had a few little nagging things over the last year. Obviously stuff is going to happen, but to that point, I mean, it's the most important thing.

I mean, if you're not healthy and you can't give yourself the best chance to play, you're not going to really see the results or see maybe your full potential.

Q. Can you talk a little bit about what it's been like to see Taylor Townsend's great success here, both in singles and doubles, especially after the challenges she's faced through her career?

JESSICA PEGULA: Yeah, it's so nice. She played really well the other night against Mirra. We all know she can play really good tennis.

She's a little unorthodox. When she's serving well with the lefty serve, she comes into the net so well. When she's confident and feeling good, she's so dangerous, and you don't really want to play her.

It's been really nice to see her come through, especially since the last time she had a big result here was so long ago. I think before she had her son as well.

I feel like the last few years that I've talked to her, she just seems, like, really happy. I'm just happy for her. She loves being a mom. She doesn't really play a full schedule all the time, but I think she likes to be home.

She likes to do things her way, and she's always been like that for as long as I can remember. Whether it's starting at the net with the volleys or whatever, she's done that forever. She's always kind of stepped to her own beat, and I commend her for sticking to that. When you see the results kind of follow, it's really nice to see.

I think she was a little unfortunate. I think earlier she had a concussion thing or something that took her out for a while. I think it's taken her a little time to get back into her form.

That and then her success on doubles. We always knew she was going to be No. 1 in the world in doubles if she just had a good partner and played. So now she's accomplished that and won slams in that.

It's just cool. We grew up around the same age, and we've always been pretty good friends, so it's nice to see.

Q. The other day you mentioned that as a top player you get more practice time compared to when you weren't one. What was it like when you first came on the tour and I guess less known? Was there ever a period when it was hard to get practice time or just when you wanted to practice?

JESSICA PEGULA: Yeah, I was on that back court, those practice courts, like, 20 -- are they 20 --

Q. (Off microphone.)

JESSICA PEGULA: I was back in the park smelling all the weed and smelling all the smells New York City has to offer. They were, like, completely different courts too. They were so fast, and they were nothing like the match courts.

But yeah, I've definitely seen a shift in my practice courts and my times and what courts that I can get now that I'm a top player. You know, I guess you could say it's unfair a little bit, but I also think sometimes you've earned that right.

There's a lot of players that have been in that situation, and now they're on better courts. Yeah, I was definitely out there in the weeds kind of fighting for my life like everybody else (laughing).

Q. I saw a video on YouTube that you were talking about music tastes. You mentioned that you like R&B. He seemed to have no idea who SZA is.

JESSICA PEGULA: He didn't know. I've been in a big R&B -- I listen to everything, first of all. But, yeah, SZA, Kehlani. I like vibes like that. It keeps me very mellow and very chill before a match. Yeah, he didn't know who that was.

Q. Before a match, would you listen to R&B?

JESSICA PEGULA: Yeah, yeah, for sure. I listen to stuff that, I don't know, is more vibey. I don't need to get, like, amped up.

Again, it's just so hard for me to portray a lot of energy that it kind of zaps me, and I feel a little bit like too much, which is crazy because you probably would never think it looks like that, but it feels like that to me. I probably look exactly the same.

I definitely like, yeah, more of a vibe for music before matches.

Q. You mentioned Taylor, but we don't know if she'll be your next opponent. She could be. If it's Barbora, how would you describe what you have seen in her and her development from an expert doubles player to a singles major champion?

JESSICA PEGULA: Yeah, Barbora, she's so hard to play. I was watching her match against Emma the other night, and it's, like, she disguises her shots to well. She's really crafty. She changes the direction of the ball. She can serve well.

She does everything really well, and sometimes she can be a little I think up and down in matches. Like you see kind of these stretches where she'll just reel off multiple games and then she kind of goes down.

It's really hard to play people like that, but it feels a little bit this year like she's kind of doing what she's done in the past when she's gone deep. She's managing the three sets really well and winning and kind of figuring out ways to win.

I think that's when she's her most dangerous, because I saw she was down 3-0 the other night. I looked at the score, and I was, like, that means absolutely nothing with Barbora, because I know that she can just string winners off, like, left and right.

I think her game is very unorthodox. That's why she's beaten a lot of top players as well when she's playing well, because you just don't know what to expect, and she disguises the ball very well.

So to me, she's been always very frustrating to play. I know I've beaten her a few times, but she's also beaten me the last few times. It can just, yeah, frustrate you, because you're not really sure what to expect. There's not a lot of patterns, I guess you could say, I feel like when I play her.

So I don't know who is going to win that match. No idea, honestly. I would not bet anything on that match. It's like flip a coin, but it will be interesting to see how they both handle, you know, going deep into a slam for Taylor and then how Barbora, like, she's -- I feel like she's starting to play pretty good the last few months, so I'm interested to see just, you know, how the match goes.