THE CHAMPIONSHIPS

June 29, 2026

Jessica Pegula

Press Conference

J. PEGULA/D. Vidmanova

7-5, 6-3

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. I was wondering how much of a revenge this victory is compared to last year?

JESSICA PEGULA: Yeah, I definitely wanted to redeem myself a bit from last year's exit and then also the early exit at the French. I mean, I did well in Australia, I've done well in US Open the last few years. Yeah, wasn't happy about that. Little extra nerves or pressure today, as well, just with that in mind but then also motivation at the same time.

Q. Obviously celebrating the win but also celebrating the Jennifer Brady curse at Wimbledon is lifted. That's something you're pleased with?

JESSICA PEGULA: She's actually here. She was, like, Should I come to your match? I don't know. I did leave her a ticket but she couldn't get here at the start, so she was, like, I'm not going to mess anything up.

We have not talked about Wimbledon, we have not talked about my results this year at Wimbledon. So the curse has been lifted, for sure.

Q. I think you and Coco were probably the last players of your caliber to also play doubles at the same time. Curious, why doesn't it happen anymore? Why doesn't it happen more often? Do you miss it? Are there things that have happened to your game as a result of it, playing less doubles?

JESSICA PEGULA: Yeah, do I miss playing. It was so fun playing with her again in Berlin. I felt like when we're playing well, we complement each other very well. I felt like we were so in sync and we didn't really lose that much, and we ended up losing a tough one.

I mean, I miss playing a lot. I think the problem is more of just the scheduling and kind of the really long days. Yeah, like, doing well in singles, it's tough. We would get scheduled so late for doubles, having to come back and play singles relatively early the next day.

A couple of days I can think of, like, Miami was crazy one year, like, I was still... I don't know if she was in singles, but I just remember I was playing doubles at, like, so late, and then having to drive home and then come back and play early and it's hot.

There is just a lot of times where the scheduling just didn't quite work out. TV wants us to be at certain times, especially now that we've been established singles players for a while.

But I miss playing. I think it really helped my game. I think it probably really helped her game as well. I think for her too she was so young when we started playing. I'm sure it was nice to win tournaments and win titles and be put in pressure situations that were all very new to her, especially someone so young.

I think that probably really helped her. But I of course miss it. I just, with the schedule, the two-week events, how everything gets so long, you know, kind of always wanted to take advantage of time that you get to go home as well. Being in a two-week event and losing early in singles, maybe having a chance to go home I think right now outweighs sticking around, playing singles and doubles, at least for me right now.

Q. Another American player, Iva Jovic, what have you made of her game, particularly on grass?

JESSICA PEGULA: I think she won or she was up 5-0? She's a great player, I think she's so good. I practiced with her a little bit. And then I just remember watching her play in Australia. I didn't know if I had, like, an idea of where her game was going to be.

I think she went out for a night match and just destroyed somebody. You could just see the look in her face, like, she means business every time she steps out. I think that is something super rare. You don't always see that in someone so young.

I remember watching that match, and I was, like, This girl is going to be really good. You can sense it. I think you kind of know when you see someone playing. I feel like she had a great year last year, and then I think has kind of asserted herself as for sure top-20 player.

I think she can go even higher. She's gotten so much stronger physically and super fit and competes like an animal. I really respect that aspect of her.

Yeah, she doesn't seem to be fazed by whoever she's facing, which I think is something rare. I think she's going to have an amazing career for the next 10, 15, however long she decides to play.

Q. On grass you think her game matches up okay?

JESSICA PEGULA: Yeah, I think especially now because the grass isn't overwhelmingly fast. I think she absorbs pace really well, changes direction of the ball really well. I think it helps her serve, which is something I think probably over the years will get a lot better.

She still has a pretty good serve, especially for her size. She kind of hits like a hard cut serve, and I think that's really efficient on grass.

So yeah, she played in Queen's and had a really great tournament there. I would not be surprised at all to see her become a good grass court player.

Q. What was your reaction to Marketa's ban? Also, have you ever been in any situation where you considered refusing a test?

JESSICA PEGULA: Yeah, I mean, it's just really unfortunate. I feel like for Marketa, I don't know the ins and outs of exactly what happened, it seems like there's a lot of "he said, she said" kind of things going on right now.

But I just think for something like that, for four years, you're ruining someone's career over something that could have really just been a complete misunderstanding, and I just don't think that's fair. I think the sentencing is so harsh.

You know, I don't know if she's going to appeal it with CAS or what's going on. I just think there has got to be a solution where we're not just totally destroying someone's career over something where she didn't even test positive.

So I don't quite understand the difference between, yeah, that and then obviously what happened with Sinner and Iga. They justified what the rules were and why it was the way it was.

It just doesn't really make sense to me. I don't think it makes sense to a person that's just looking at it common sense-wise. I understand there should be some sort of punishment, because I know she's refused to take a test, and that's not good either. I just feel like there could be something that could be done to not just, like, ruin someone's career like that.

We'll see. Maybe she was totally in the wrong. I don't really know. But I have never been, I don't think, in that situation. I have always just known that, like, if I make contact with an officer and I sign something, like, I have to be tested, so I don't really take any chances with that type of stuff.

You know, I think the easier way is just to do it. But, yeah, I have never quite, I don't think, been in that situation where I wasn't able to test or I didn't feel comfortable, whatever her reasoning was.

Q. In terms of scheduling tournaments before Wimbledon, most top players play Berlin, Bad Homburg, or maybe both. This year you played Berlin and went to the final. Last year you played Bad Homburg and won and lost first round here last year. What do you prefer or find more advantageous for you, to not play the week leading up to Wimbledon or I guess play it?

JESSICA PEGULA: Well, I think we'll find out maybe in the next week. I have done both and sometimes it works; sometimes it doesn't.

I think for me, my decision this year, it was my decision after I lost first round here last year, was that I wasn't going to play the week before. I just felt the grass played a lot different. I felt like I went out there for my first round and I wasn't prepared as well as I could have been for the conditions.

Just even like your racquet stringing, how the tension is with the weather. I think this week I had a whole range of where I hit on a couple of different match courts that were in different areas. I hit at Aorangi, I hit on super-hot days. I hit the last couple days where it cooled down a little bit. So I just felt like, okay, I'm just as well prepared as I could be.

Last year I ran into someone who was playing really good grass court tennis and I felt like I didn't put myself in the best position conditions-wise, and I have been playing good on grass.

Yeah, I just kind of changed. I mean, depends on how you're feeling. I mean this year in Berlin, I was still thinking maybe I should take a wildcard if this doesn't go well, because I don't want to be sitting around in Europe for two weeks also not competing.

It's so hard in tennis because it's really based on how you're feeling on that surface, physically how you're feeling, mentally how you're feeling, and it worked out perfect. I was able to make the finals of Berlin and just come here and practice. It was great.

If I had lost earlier in Berlin I'm not so sure I'd be doing the same situation. It's just the crazy thing about tennis, you're just going day by day with what happens and how you feel.

Q. Berlin and US Open, too, when there is someone serving for the match or match points coming up and there is a swarm of children who swoop down to courtside.

JESSICA PEGULA: Yeah.

Q. How much do you notice that? How distracting it is, whether you're winning or losing, and if there can be something done to prevent that? Feels like these vultures coming in.

JESSICA PEGULA: Yeah (smiling). Yeah, they're excited to possibly get someone's signature and get a good spot for an autograph or a picture. Yeah, I don't know. I mean, I maybe should just not allow them to come down so quickly.

It's funny when you see it happening, but then it's not funny when you don't close out the match and you're freaking out. I have seen that happen a few times at the US Open. It's not something I totally notice, I would say. I definitely noticed it watching her on TV because they will kind of pan.

I think it is a bit of a distraction for players. I know we're allowing more movement on the sides. But yeah, maybe they kind of just don't let all the kids rush down to that front row.

They're kids and excited too. You don't want to totally ruin that moment for them.

Q. You have talked about your podcast several times, and I'm a big fan of your channel. What I really like is how diverse you four players are. Can you talk a little bit about who came up with that idea and how many people are involved in that, like, a script writer or someone? Can you talk a little bit about that?

JESSICA PEGULA: Are you talking about diverse the four of us or the people we have on as guests? As guests or us?

Q. Yeah.

JESSICA PEGULA: Well, I mean, the idea just came because we're friends. I think it is interesting, because we have had, like, four totally different upbringings and journeys to getting to where we are, but have all played at the highest level or currently are playing at the highest level. We have all had injuries. We've all been on the same journey but in very different ways.

I felt like that was such a nice perspective to give to people, because I remember the first couple times we talked about people that wanted to produce it possibly, and they're, like, Why does it have to be all four of you? Maybe it should just be two. I'm, like, No, that's not going to work.

I swear, the four of us, it works. I think we have proven that. It's been really nice to see, honestly, like even fans really loving, obviously me, Madi are top singles players, but even like Des and Jenny. Jenny hasn't played in a while, she's been injured, but they love her. She's so funny. Even Des is super relatable and chaotic and most outgoing out of all four of us.

I think it's been really nice to see them gain fans even though they're not always on TV the most or whatever it is. They can relate to them as human beings, so I think that's been really nice to see and important.

As far as production, we work with this team called Rewired. It's mainly my friend Jason Tartick who was actually on The Bachelor and finished in the top three guys. And I know him from Buffalo, it's just so random. I didn't know Bachelor Nation is so popular. It's a famous thing if you watch The Bachelor or Bachelorette, it's this cult following of people.

He's kind of famous in that aspect, but he kind of wanted to get out of that. Then he moved into producing podcasts and he has his own as well that's pretty successful. He was just a friend and I knew him.

Yeah, he's from Buffalo, grew up with my husband a little bit. I just asked him, What should we kind of do? We talked to a few different people, but we really liked him.

We joked about it the other day actually filming. It was the fastest launch ever. I literally think we finally got on a call with them, like, second week of Cincy, and we literally launched it right at US Open. They were, like, We have never done anything this fast. Like, this is crazy, but it works for us. It was, again, a little bit chaotic, but that seems to kind of be our brand.

It's a little messy, but it's I think relatable and it works. We love the team that we have now. So we have a producer and editor, we have two producers, we also work with Dani Klupenger, works for Tennis Channel. You see her on the desk with Prakash quite a bit.

She's brought in the tennis element, so she's obviously very in tune to what's happening more on the TV media side with tennis and kind of what's more relatable for fans.

Between her and our producer Harris, who is there, and we have an editor, Mark, who really helps. They have been awesome. We've had different people come up to us wanting to do it, and we are, like, honestly it works because we love working with them so much.

We have a group chat that's constantly going, and it's a little unhinged, but it makes it so much fun. It's honestly been, I think all of us can say, one of the reasons we enjoy it and are putting out an episode every single week is because we love working with them. It's been awesome.

Q. You have spoken before about benefits of kind of being away from some of the other players, hotels and all that. Are there any things kind of away from tennis you have changed in your routine, preparation this year, any non-negotiables you've got?

JESSICA PEGULA: Non-negotiables? I don't think I have any real...

Well, my non-negotiable here when I knew it was going to be hot was I need an AC unit in the flat, an absolute must (smiling). I'm American. I need AC.

No, I think one thing is I have noticed, I pack a lot more than I used to, because there are things maybe in my old age that I'm, like, make me feel just better on the road. It can be anything. I mean, it could be like one of those things to blend my coffee. I don't feel like going to buy one, so I'll bring one from home. It's bringing extra snacks.

I was talking to someone, they bring their slippers. Okay, I'm not going to bring my slippers. Sometimes a candle, something that makes you feel that you're not so far away from home, comforting things I would say that's something this year I have definitely been traveling with way more stuff. I feel like I'm the mom with all of these things (smiling). You need this, you need that, you need this.

That's something that I've noticed, yeah.