THE CHAMPIONSHIPS

July 5, 2026

Jessica Pegula

Press Conference

J. PEGULA/I. Jovic

4-6, 6-3, 6-1

THE MODERATOR: Jess, could you share some initial thoughts on today's match.

JESSICA PEGULA: Yeah, I mean, really tough match today. Yeah, happy to be through. Happy to get through that one. Maybe not fun in the moment winning a three-set match, but I feel when you're playing a slam, it's a must to get through those tough ones.

Really happy with the way I was able to turn it around today.

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. First-round exit last year. You came from behind today. We've seen you perform when things haven't gone in your favor. Do you prefer doing things the hard way?

JESSICA PEGULA: No, I don't (smiling). I do think that it's I guess a good testament to my ability to problem solve and compete, that I'm able to turn matches around.

Yeah, sometimes it just takes me a second to get going (smiling). It's not something I always want to do, but I think it is nice of having a reputation that, like, even though someone's beating me, it's definitely not over. I think I like having that associated with maybe my mentality.

Q. I wanted to ask about her. You played her on three different surfaces this year. Do you see anything different in her game as she's progressed?

JESSICA PEGULA: Yeah, pretty much I had to kind of get my serve going there. She's a very good returner. I needed to not just have a good serving day, but having a bad serving day wasn't going to be how I was going to win the match, that's for sure.

Yeah, I'm happy with the way I was able to kind of readjust that and not kind of panic too much and just reset.

As far as the first set, I mean, we had a lot of breaks. I was still returning well. I just told myself to pick up the first-serve percentage, get some more first-serve free points, quick points. Change up the pace on that.

Yeah, I think my coach just kind of told me, like, You're reacting a bit instead of actually like, I don't know, what's the opposite of reacting, proactive, being proactive. I was trying to think about it on court. Active? I don't know what the word is (laughter). I was just reacting.

It's funny because I think we play honestly pretty similar where we both absorb pace very well. I just felt like I was kind of getting into this ping-pong match with her. I wasn't serving well, so I ended up losing the set. This isn't how I'm going to win the match. I need to kind of step up.

I just told myself I've been practicing a lot of different things. It's no different out here. I joke with my coach that it's all just practice anyways. It's all just practice. Just do the things we've been practicing. Luckily, I was able to tap into that.

There were some really close games at the end of the second and the third. That was just me really committing to having a lot of energy, moving forward, being aggressive when I needed to. Luckily, it paid off.

But yeah, she's a great player. I played her three times, three different surfaces, which is kind of funny. She's actually very good on all surfaces. I don't think there's one where I felt she wasn't as good or way better. I felt like her level was pretty much the same.

Her backhand was very good on the grass, for sure. The way she's able to absorb it and redirect it is really good. From what I've noticed, just her mentality is so good. She's so solid. I don't see her ever really, like, not winning a lot of matches, to be honest. I think her baseline is just really high right now.

But she's newer on tour. There's going to be a lot of ups and downs for her. I think physically, too, probably from like the last year, I would say. I didn't play her, but just seeing her, practicing with her, she's definitely gotten a lot stronger.

Definitely grown into her body. She's put on a lot of muscle, super fit now. Her ball's gotten much bigger maybe than when I used to practice with her a year ago or something.

Q. Are you a Yoga person? Is that where everything is practice?

JESSICA PEGULA: You know what, I'm not. It's hilarious. My coach always said it, the other Mark, Mark Merklein. He sent me a picture the other day of the inside of a shirt that says, Live and practice. I said, Is that your Lululemon shirt? They put the lines in the shirt. It's a very Yoga thing. I don't think he ever thought of that. It is kind of a Yoga saying. No, I'm not.

Q. Your volleying, evolution of your volleying, you were really sticking 'em today. I'm curious, you're obviously a super-accomplished doubles player. How is volleying in singles different? How is the evolution of your singles volleying good?

JESSICA PEGULA: I think we've worked a lot on coming to net, but being in better position, to be a little bit more athletic at the net, not being so casual. I tend to be kind of casual.

Honestly, in general with how I'm playing, I'm not really exerting a ton as far as compared to, I don't know, Sabalenka or even Iva where I don't think visually it looks like that.

I try to be a little bit more athletic, not reacting as much, maybe also more active, proactive, whatever you want to call it. We've worked a lot on my positions.

I think before, a few years ago, I would be, I want to come to the net, but I feel like I'm getting passed. We worked a lot on positioning, being more athletic. That transition part of it is so much different than doubles, whereas doubles you're already at the net or you're coming in, covering one side. It can be a lot different.

I have, like, pretty good hands. In doubles I always feel really comfortable as far as someone coming right at me. All of a sudden when you're looking to move forward and transition, you're looking at a lot of different things, like where I need to cover, split stepping a little bit earlier.

Even if you're out of position, I think being in a good position at least to maybe make a play on the best ball, even if you know you're not in the best spot.

There's a lot of things comparing it to singles and doubles. That's some of the stuff I've really tried to work on.

Q. Iva said it was the first time she ever played on Centre Court. Have you ever played on Centre Court?

JESSICA PEGULA: Nope.

Q. Is that odd to you?

JESSICA PEGULA: Yeah, it's weird. I think it's weirder for Madi because we say she's been on tour for, like... She's like, I feel like I'm 45 years old. She's a veteran.

I can't believe she never played on it.

You've done well here. What do you mean you haven't played on it?

That was kind of a funny thing.

Yeah, I played on all the other ones like multiple times, like a lot. I played on Chatrier a ton, Laver a ton. I played every match on Ashe last year. Maybe this year we'll see.

Q. What would it mean for you to get on there? What will it represent to you as this one place that still has its gates closed to you?

JESSICA PEGULA: Yeah, it would be really cool. An honor, obviously. I think everybody wants to be on Centre Court Wimbledon at one point.

If I get there, it will be even better. If I've earned my spot there, making a semi, knowing I can get there, that would be awesome. I love Court 1. It's so nice. I think you really get the true Wimbledon experience once you play on at least Court 1, or I'm assuming Centre is even better.

You really get the feeling that you're playing Wimbledon. I remember experiencing that the first time when I made the quarter a few years ago. Got to play on Court 1, I think, twice.

It's a different feeling I think than when you're playing on the other courts. I would love to earn my spot to be there, for sure.

Q. You're not the biggest pop culture junky. Have you kept up at all with any of the news of Taylor Swift?

JESSICA PEGULA: Yes, they got married at MSG, I guess.

Q. Is it a topic of the group chat in the Player's Box?

JESSICA PEGULA: A little bit. Des is the big Taylor Swift fan. The rest of us, we like listening to her music, but we're not quite like her.

It's been a little bit of a topic because nobody knew what was happening with it. Oh, we heard she's already married. We heard that they put the sign out on MSG. Then you obviously started seeing some of the pictures coming out. Adam Sandler officiated the wedding.

We've been keeping up on it a little bit.

Q. What do you think of it as a venue for the wedding?

JESSICA PEGULA: It's crazy. But it's Taylor Swift. I don't expect anything less than doing something different. Not totally surprising. But yeah, interesting. I don't know.

Q. You were talking a little bit earlier about the proactive/active things, gave a bit of insight into your internal monologue during a match. I'm interested to hear about whether players are kind of super focused with repeating mantras to themselves or whether you let your mind wander during a match. Does it help sometimes to take the pressure off to just relax?

JESSICA PEGULA: Yeah, I mean, I think you have to kind of let your mind be. I'm very much the one, I mean, I don't meditate a lot, but I used to quite a bit. Whoever was instructing me, they'd be like, You can let your mind wander, it's okay.

I always used to fight. I have to be so focused, I got to think about nothing. How is that possible? How am I supposed to focus on this one thing?

I think I learned through that that you can let your mind wander. You can touch on things as long as you come back to whatever it is you're focusing on.

I take that into my tennis a bit. I don't necessarily think I have to have tunnel vision. I definitely let things happen. I laugh. I'm thinking about what is the opposite of reactive? It's still related to the match.

I think it's good to have a little bit of a sense of humor and enjoy. I think when my mind isn't so, like, tunnel vision focused, it's able for me to think of other things that might be happening that maybe I'm not picking up on.

I never really like staying hyper-focused because I feel like in a way it kind of hurts me. I think when you let your mind just kind of be, that's when you start seeing other things that maybe you didn't notice before. Instead of just hyper-fixating on one thing that maybe isn't working, maybe it's not going to work today. Maybe I need to look outside of that. Maybe I need to look outside of what the game plan was. Maybe I need to change something. Maybe they're doing something to me that I'm going to have to adjust to.

Yeah, to that point, I definitely think I let my mind casually wander sometimes.

Q. Can you explain how things change when the roof closes. People have been talking about the Centre Court roof closing for darkness, not necessarily for rain. Can you explain what happens to the conditions.

JESSICA PEGULA: I mean, yeah, when I played Marketa, I was up 4-1 in the third. They closed the roof. I don't think I won a game after that. It didn't go great for me.

I think it gets heavier. I think it slows it down. I see a lot of people slipping a lot more. Maybe the humidity gets trapped and it gets a little slippery. That's been my experience.

I did hit on it with Aryna. I didn't really notice that much of a difference actually in that hit. Maybe it kind of changes if it's been open for a while, then all of a sudden they close it and it doesn't quite cool down maybe fast enough. I think that can probably be a part of it.

But yeah, that's really my only two experiences I've had.

Q. I was wondering, talking about your fitness and physicality, how is your body feeling going into the second week? With all your experience, what are some of the things you do to get your body reset for the quarterfinal?

JESSICA PEGULA: Yeah, I mean, grass is a little tricky I feel like for me. Sometimes the surface, it's a lot of, like, decelerating. I think going into grass court season, a lot of people work on those kind of deceleration work on grass 'cause it just feels much different than when you're on clay or hard.

I do a lot of work on that as far as movement. I think being lighter on your feet. When you're heavy or flat-footed you can get really sore because it's a lot of pounding on your legs.

That's something I've been working on and try to think about when I'm practicing and playing matches, is being kind of light and flowing with the grass. I think that's the best way for your body to actually like absorb some of the shock that it's taking throughout a match.

Recovery is, I mean, for me, I like a lot of ice baths. I actually enjoy. I'm probably going to do that after I'm done here. I'll do a cold tub and massage.

Everything feels pretty good, though. I can't complain. I'm definitely very healthy right now. There's always little things here and there but stuff that's very manageable.

Yeah, feeling good and try to take advantage of the fact that my body is feeling good right now.