AUSTRALIAN OPEN

January 28, 2026

Jessica Pegula

Press Conference

J. PEGULA/A. Anisimova

6-2, 7-6

THE MODERATOR: Jess, congratulations. Into your very first Australian Open semifinal. Just give us your thoughts on your performance today and how you were able to get the win.

JESSICA PEGULA: Really happy with my performance today. I thought, yeah, from start to finish there was a lot of momentum swings, but I thought I came out playing really well, came out serving really well, and was able to just hold on there in the second and get that break back and take it in two.

So I think I showed some good mental resilience there at the end not to get frustrated and, yeah, just really happy with everything today.

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. You had a good head-to-head against her. You hadn't played against her since she got to be a top-10 player. How much confidence did you have going into this matchup with that and how well you've been playing?

JESSICA PEGULA: It definitely helps when you have a good record against somebody. I think you kind of know that you can beat them no matter the ranking. I think that always is kind of in the back of your head.

But I have come to playing her a few times. We didn't play each other in Beijing. We didn't play each other the Finals. I was kind of interested to see what she's kind of doing differently as far as being a top player.

So I knew that was going to be kind of a challenge, but I honestly really relied on a lot of my strategy and stuff that I've been working on with my team to really kind of pull me through there at the end.

So, I mean, yeah, I think she's definitely playing better, I think moving a bit better. Her rally tolerance seems to be a little bit higher. But yeah, just happy with kind of me just trusting my game plan and some things that I felt like I could pick up on. I think that kind of helped me.

Q. All of your semis have come after 30 years old. I'm curious, how much more appreciative of the work that it takes to get to a semi or a final than maybe you would have thought a decade ago?

JESSICA PEGULA: Yeah, I don't know, I think I did a great job putting myself in good positions, but I do feel like when I look back at other quarterfinal matches that I had lost, again, I just don't know if mentally I was really there.

I think I kind of, I don't know, was happy that I was there and then I think just put a little bit too much pressure on myself to get to that next kind of match, but also, I think I've become a better player where I just know how to be in this position more. I think I have more tools.

So when you feel like you have more in the tool shed when you are out there and things aren't going great, that is a lot of confidence right there. When you kind of feel like you're helpless, which I felt like some of the quarterfinals I lost previously I was, it's frustrating, because you feel like you can't do anything to flip the match. You're just kind of competing and hoping something changes.

In some of those matches, I just felt like I wasn't the better player, you know, throughout the match. I'm just proud of myself, again, of how I've been able to consistently still improve. I feel like, to be honest, the level is higher now than probably before when I was making some of those quarters.

You know, I don't think Aryna was as dominant. Rybakina maybe wasn't as dominant. Iga was kind of, like, when she was dominating a little bit, but now we have all these girls, Amanda.

Yeah, it's a weird kind of thing to think about, but I don't know if I've worked necessarily harder. I actually think I work a little less hard and just a lot smarter and just really honed in on how to become better.

Q. You sort of touched on this on your last answer, but can you speak for a little bit about your persistence in your career and also stability in your game? Amanda mentioned that word when she described you.

JESSICA PEGULA: I think it's a little bit with my personality. I've always been someone that doesn't really panic. I don't really get too emotional. I don't really get too upset about things, so I think that's just kind of where the stability comes from.

I think it's a little bit of maturing and kind of growing into your personality. Then I think over the last, I don't know, four or five years, really I've been able to put that out on the court, and that's just helped my game, helped my mental game. You know, I'm very persistent as far as always wanting to get better, always wanting to work on stuff, always feeling like I can do things that maybe people thought I couldn't and kind of improve in those areas.

Yeah, I mean, the way I think about the game, I honestly think it's different than a lot of people, and I think that's my strength. So I think especially over the last couple of years I've kind of leaned into what my strengths are, and that is stability and my mental toughness and my ability to, you know, stay calm out there on the court and kind of just lean into that and really kind of own that.

You have to be confident out here. You're playing against some really tough girls, so it's a little bit, I think, personality, but then learning how to kind of mesh that with my game on the court.

Q. In the rest of your life as well?

JESSICA PEGULA: Yeah, I don't really get too upset, and I move on from things very quickly. Like, things might get me really upset, but then I'm usually over it within a day, and I'm able to, I don't know, think very clearly.

I've always been like that. Not that I'm trying to talk myself up. It's just my personality. Like, I don't get super anxious. I don't get super hot-headed. Yeah, it's never really been me.

Q. Coco and Iga talked about the cameras back stage at this tournament, and not feeling like they had privacy. I don't think Coco realized she was in a camera area when she broke a racquet after losing last night. I'm wondering, for you as a player council person who has dealt with these kind of things, what do you think about the issue of player privacy and protection, safe spaces for them, versus this want the tournament has for constant content to make a reality show?

JESSICA PEGULA: Yeah, I'm not a fan of the cameras. I saw that last night, and I was, like, geez. It's the same thing when Aryna lost the final, I was, like, can you just let the girls have like a moment to themselves?

Honestly we were talking about cameras years ago. I remember when Maddie Keys, her number one priority on council was, we have to stop with these cameras. This is crazy.

I think they ended up putting up signs so people knew there were cameras, but this year it feels even worse. I mean, I see, like, I'll be in the gym, and there's video of me, like, walking into the site. I saw people that I didn't even know was happening in areas that you don't think someone is kind of watching you. It's in every single hallway.

Coco wasn't wrong when she said the only place is the locker room, which is crazy. You know, you're just kind of going about your day. To feel like someone is constantly filming you, I saw online people were Zooming in on players' phones and stuff like that. That's so unnecessary. I just think it's really an invasion of privacy.

I mean, we're on the court on TV. You come inside, you're on TV. Literally, the only time you're not being recorded is when you are going to shower and go to the bathroom.

I think that's something that we need to cut back on, for sure. Yeah, I don't think what Coco did was wrong. I don't think what Aryna did was wrong. It's just people happen to be watching it. You just feel like you're under a microscope constantly.

Then people obviously post it online, and then they either take it out of context or judge you on a moment that shouldn't be a moment. It should be a private moment.

I really, really am not a fan. I've had the tournament tell me to take down some stuff because they own footage and stuff like that. I'm, like, Are you serious? I post something that has to be taken down, but then you can see me on every single hallway that I'm walking in and post it online? It's not cool.

Yeah, I think Coco was right to call it out. It's definitely not something new, especially on a council perspective. It seems to be worse here than maybe other years, so I think now it's going to definitely be talked about and highlighted again moving forward.

Q. Do you think this tournament more than other tournaments has it?

JESSICA PEGULA: It seems like it, yeah. I remember a few years ago it was a conversation, and then I think they put up signs to kind of notify people, but like, no one is looking at a sign. That doesn't make it better.

But, yeah, it's a little -- very intrusive.

Q. You are well known for hanging around other players and spending time with your colleagues. Some top players prefer to be in the bubble, like surrounding by the team staff or someone, but for you, do you prefer to be more, you know, relaxed? Does it also come from your personality?

JESSICA PEGULA: Yeah, maybe a little bit. Sometimes you want days where you want to get in and out of the site. You don't really want to talk to anybody. You kind of want to get out.

But I'm very friendly with a lot of the girls on tour and the guys on tour, and we see each other a lot. I would just say I'm always very cordial. You know, at the end of the day, we're all working together at the same place. Going to work, if you want to call it, together, playing, practicing, training.

So I just always feel like it makes a much better atmosphere when you are just cordial about things and saying, hey, how are you, good morning, good job yesterday, if you saw them play, stuff like that.

I definitely have quite a few friends on tour, especially the American girls. I think it's really helped me enjoy traveling a lot more. You know, traveling I think is something that's hard on all of us, and being away from home is really tough.

So I feel like when you can have a group of people that you can do stuff with and talk to and just be yourself with is really helpful traveling. I think that's something that's helped a lot over the last few years is kind of getting a core group of people that you can relate to and talk to.

I don't travel with a big team either. Usually it's maybe three, four people max. I mean, here it's just my coach and hitting partner. I always think I do better kind of in small groups. So I like to keep my focus and hang with my team. At the same time, I think I'm just laid back and I'm cordial, and I just try to be friendly to most of the people that we see every day.

Q. You've got a run of success against fellow Americans. There's a bunch of you vying for the top spot, and there's a lot of you in the top 10 in that post-Serena era. Is that bragging rights on the line, or is it just something that fuels you?

JESSICA PEGULA: Who has the best record against Americans? Me?

Q. (Off microphone.)

JESSICA PEGULA: I mean, I'll take it (laughter). I'll take those bragging rights. I guess it's something I pride myself a little bit on. Yeah, especially against some of the younger girls, it's kind of like a, hey, you're not quite there yet maybe a little bit, a little nod to that (smiling).

Yeah, I don't really know why my record is so good against Americans, but I think now that I've been asked a few times, yeah, I definitely would rather have that record than not (laughter).

Q. Last year at this time the group chat was all, like, Maddie is going to win this. What does the group chat look like now?

JESSICA PEGULA: Well, did you see when Jenny said I was going to win Wimbledon, and I lost first round? So I better not get any of those texts, is all I'm saying. I was, like, I don't -- when Jenny told me that one and I lost first round, I was, like, Don't you ever say that again (smiling).

You'd have to ask them after the tournament is over, but, yeah, I don't want to see any of those texts anymore (laughter).

Q. In terms of what you were saying before about the cameras, how do you get TA, or Tennis Australia, or whoever it is, to be responsive if this has been an issue -- they first started doing the hallway cameras in 2019, so it's not a new thing. How do you get them to listen? Since no one has asked, I wanted to ask about Rybakina and playing her next and your thoughts.

JESSICA PEGULA: The camera situation, I'm not really sure. I guess this kind of goes back to a lot of the Grand Slam stuff. Having a line of communication with them would be fantastic. We don't really have that right now.

So, again, this would be maybe an issue where we would be like, Hey, nobody wants these cameras, it's really invasive, it's intrusive.

I'm all for growing a slam and you want content for fans, but at some point it's a little too much. I mean, I think that's where maybe that comes into play.

Like I said, as Coco kind of mentioned it and touched on it yesterday, I think that will definitely get more eyes on it, and hopefully they can pull back some of that stuff, but you know, we won't know until next year or maybe if they, you know, decide to respond and have a more open communication with us.

As far as Rybakina, yeah, I just played her in Riyadh. She was playing really good tennis. Obviously won the event.

It's going to be really tough. Anyone that serves like she does, she's always going to be in the match. Not just serve, but return and from the ground. You know, it's not like she can only serve. She has a pretty well-rounded, all-around power game.

I'm going to kind of look at some stuff I did in Riyadh and see if I can change some stuff, but yeah, it doesn't get any easier from here on out.

Yeah, we had a really close match in Saudi, so I'm going to have to kind of look at that and see some things that I can do different. She looks like she played a really clean match today. I was watching a little bit.

Yeah, another big hitter. Yeah, there's not a lack of those on the tour these days.