AUSTRALIAN OPEN

January 30, 2026

Jessica Pegula

Press Conference

E. RYBAKINA/J. Pegula

6-3, 7-6

THE MODERATOR: Jess, obviously a tough one today, but you put up a huge fight, especially in the second set. Can you just give us your overall reactions to the match and what made the difference today?

JESSICA PEGULA: Yeah, I mean, that was tough. Obviously having set points, knowing that I was able to stay in there and kind of start turning the match at times and start playing a lot better towards the end, you know, just in time to give myself a chance, but yeah, that was tough tonight.

Honestly, I'm disappointed in my level. I felt like I didn't play very well until maybe the very end, and even at the end it was still kind of shoddy. I missed a couple balls I had a lot of chances often.

I felt like both of us were a little back and forth at times. She was just playing a little bit cleaner than I was.

Yeah, I'm just kind of disappointed that I wasn't able to bring a better level tonight.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. What felt off in the first set in your game?

JESSICA PEGULA: Yeah, listen, I have been playing every match during the day. It's playing much hotter, much faster. Getting out there, it was a nice night, cool, but slow, very slow. It took me a while to get my feet under me.

I think my timing was really off for a while, and it's hard against someone that hits as big as she does. I felt like she adapted a little bit quicker and was hitting that big, heavy ball at me, and I felt like I was just off, making a lot of errors, not really staying through my shots as well as I could have.

Then it kind of, at the end, I think I finally started to find my timing a bit and play a lot better. So, yeah, I mean, I feel like the conditions for sure.

But, you know, also it's tough when you play in those conditions against a girl that hits big, you know, because you always feel on edge, like they're going to hit a bunch of winners or hit a bunch of aces, in her case.

I think I was just a little erratic in the beginning, kind of maybe overthinking it a little bit too and not just trusting the things that I had been doing as well. But, you know, the conditions definitely make it tougher, and I just didn't adapt as quick as I needed to.

Q. It felt like towards the end you really did start to have a read both on her serve and generally the rallies. Was that acclimatizing to the conditions or just like a general raising of level?

JESSICA PEGULA: Yeah, I mean, I think sometimes when you're on the brink of losing everything, you get a little clarity because you're kind of just like screw it, I'm just going to try and stay in this.

I played a couple of really good points to save the match points, and, you know, she missed a couple short balls, and it just kind of gave me a little bit of rhythm, a couple free points to take some pressure off.

I honestly just felt like I started figuring out what I needed to do right at the end. Luckily, it just worked. You know, obviously it helped her giving me a few errors, maybe that she was tight, I don't know, closing the match. I'm not really sure.

Yeah, I think I just had a little bit more clarity and stopped kind of overthinking a little bit and was able, yeah, to play some much better tennis.

Q. I saw on the practice schedule yesterday you went out for an evening session.

JESSICA PEGULA: I did, yeah.

Q. How much did you know this was going to be a big adjustment? I remember last year when you lost to Danilovic, it was also a slow night.

JESSICA PEGULA: Yeah, it's kind of the bane of my existing, these slow courts. When it's a heavy ball, slower court, it's not that I don't like it, it's just I think I'm a lot better on a faster surface. It's much easier for me to play, to switch to a faster court than it is to switch to a slower court.

Obviously maybe I wish I had one extra day. I could have hit at night or at least hit that late where I could get used to it better, but I did that last night, and we made that decision just to feel the tension. I ended up going a couple pounds looser just to feel the tension, feel how the ball was coming off.

So I did stay, and I think it helped me a little bit. I knew it was going to be different, and to win these tournaments, you have to be able to adapt to these different conditions at different times of the day, different courts. I think I've gotten much better at that.

I think there was improvement in that tonight. I do think I started playing better against someone that hits as big as she does on a slower court. I do think I did a better job of it tonight than maybe I would have a couple years ago, so that's promising, but still frustrating I think, nonetheless.

Yeah, just something I have to figure out.

Q. Great run. I wanted to ask you about the 6-5 point in the tiebreak. You hit your first serve on that point at 81 miles an hour, and I'm wondering if that was more maybe tightness or just really wanting to make sure you didn't hit a second serve?

JESSICA PEGULA: Honestly, I just wanted to kick it to her backhand, and I thought she would rip it cross. I just wanted to take my backhand and rip it up the middle to her forehand.

She barely made the forehand. I thought it was going out, honestly. I kind of stopped, and it dropped. So that was more strategic, honestly.

Sometimes with the big hitters you have to change pace on the serve, because they get into a rhythm, and I just -- like, it comes back harder and better and faster. I know that being a good returner sometimes it's better when the serve is coming hard than when you're changing the pace and making the opponent have to hit a different speeds.

So I honestly didn't think she was going to go for it down the line. I was honestly hoping I could catch her with a really slow serve and maybe she'd get ahead of it, or at least I thought she'd go cross with it, and then I'd be able to kind of have a more strategical play. That's kind of what I was thinking.

But, you know, obviously in hindsight I'm kind of like, oh, I wish I would have just went after it and maybe got a free point. You know, who knows?

Q. Just wondering, you have been at the later stages of these Grand Slams now three times, and you've gone one stage further. Where are you framing the experience in your mind as far as getting over the final hurdle?

JESSICA PEGULA: Yeah, it's tough. I had an amazing tournament here. I played some really good tennis, beat a lot of really good players, put up a fight tonight, but obviously I want to win the tournament. That always sucks when you don't.

So I feel like, though, my experience over the last couple of years has really, I don't know, made me feel a lot more comfortable at this stage.

I made now two slam semifinals back to back, I think that's really good, and put myself in these positions. I still feel like I'm getting better as a player.

Honestly, it's hard to really knock -- of course I wanted to win tonight more than anything, and I wanted to win the tournament and give myself a chance, but at the same time, I have had some pretty amazing results over the last few years. I think I'm a top player.

I think on hard court I'm maybe top three honestly, I think, in the world. That's definitely a great achievement. The people that have stopped me the last couple of times went on to win the tournament or they're in the finals.

It's frustrating, but it's hard to really be down on things like that, because, I mean, it's not like I'm sitting here losing to, you know, a girl ranked lower, and I missed my opportunity or, you know, I was supposed to win those matches or something like that.

I just think I have definitely gotten a lot of confidence and kind of gained experience where I know I belong at this level. I know I can still beat these girls.

I'm challenging them every single time I play them. So I just, yeah, have to figure out, you know, I don't know, maybe being a little bit more brave in some moments or figuring out how to play better in these conditions against them or whatever it is.

I'll talk to my coaches, but it's hard to say that I really want to change anything. I mean, I think I'm doing a pretty good job regardless of falling a little bit short sometimes.

Q. I know you weren't happy with your own level for most of the night, but what did you make of the way she's playing? Do you think it's good enough to challenge Aryna in the final?

JESSICA PEGULA: Yeah, she's always just tough. You know, she's so chill. She doesn't really give you anything, and I think that's hard sometimes. You're not really sure if she's upset or if she's excited or what it is.

I think in today's game that goes a long way. You don't really have a lot of energy to play off of, so I think that's always kind of her No. 1 thing. You know, obviously her serve, I don't think she served her best tonight, to be honest. I think her first-serve percentage was a little down.

But at the same time, it's so tough with her because you just know that she can throw in a couple aces at any time. She threw in a couple big serves at the end in that tiebreak. How she always kind of keeps you guessing with the serve I think is definitely one of her strengths.

You know, not just that, but she's a good returner. She was returning really well tonight and kept breaking me even when I felt like I hit some good serves.

I think the combination of those two things make her frustrating to play against, because she puts pressure on the return, but then she also -- you're like, gosh, now I have to break her if I get broken, and that's really hard to do.

I think you're always kind of on edge with her with that, because even when you break her, it's not like she's a terrible returner and you're going to win free games and are like, oh, I got the set. It's, like, oh, no, she usually plays a better return game right afterwards, and you are like, gosh, now I have to go back and try and break her again, which is impossible.

I think that's her best attributes as a player, the fact that she stays calm. I think her serve and return, she just puts so much pressure on you.

I mean, we've already seen her beat Aryna before somewhat recently, and I think she's one of the best players in the world when she's healthy and confident, and right now it seems like she is.

Yeah, it will be an interesting final.