US OPEN

August 30, 2026

Jessica Pegula

Press Conference

J. PEGULA/E.G. Ruse

6-3, 6-2

THE MODERATOR: Congratulations on the win. If you would, assess your level of play today.

JESSICA PEGULA: Yeah, I thought today I played a really clean match. I felt really nervous before I went out there, but I know my coaches were, like, You didn't really look that nervous. We thought you played great.

That's always comforting to know that I was able to get through it somewhat straightforward today, but she's a good player, so I think it was a little bit tougher maybe than the score probably seemed.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. I know you're not one to look too far ahead and talk about rankings and No. 1 and all that, but the fact that mathematically you're in the mix here at this tournament, what does it say about the depth of the women's tour and what does it say about your game?

JESSICA PEGULA: Like I said before earlier, like, it's very far away. I'd have to accomplish a lot of other really great things in order to get there. But I'm glad that it's an option, it's there, and I think to put myself in that position is great, especially with the depth that we have in women's tennis.

I mean, if you just look at the accumulation of points of all the girls that are like top 10 in the race or top 10 in the world, it's really tough right now.

I think I'd have to win this tournament in order to be No. 1, but I think that just shows the level of women's tennis right now and how well a lot of the top players are playing. But it's definitely extra motivation, and I think it's something that would be amazing, but again, it's very, very, very, very far away.

Q. Elena was more effective behind her second serve than her first. From a technical standpoint, what was it about her serve, particularly the second serve, that made it hard to return at times in the first set, and how did you adjust as the match went on?

JESSICA PEGULA: Yeah, I think she was serving really well in general. I think her first and second serve she was serving really well. I think sometimes off-speed serves can actually be more difficult than maybe first serves, because I think I know, as a good returner, I know that it's coming with pace, so then I'm able to use that pace, and sometimes when you hit a harder serve it comes back even faster. I think sometimes it can be almost harder to defend off that if someone is kind of sitting on certain serves.

But I thought she did a great job of moving around her second serves, so even though I'm a pretty aggressive second-serve returner, she was doing a really good job of hitting it deep and kind of jamming me, and I didn't really get a few double faults until later on in that second set.

So I thought she was serving with a lot of confidence and she was mixing up the speeds and her spots, so I wasn't quite able to be maybe as dominant on the second serves. I think I still returned okay, but yeah, as an aggressive returner, sometimes when they are going with more speed at you, it kind of takes away that option a little bit.

Q. I have been asking a lot of people how they feel about Carlos coming back here without having played in four-and-a-half months. I wonder if you, personally, can you even imagine trying to do something like that, even if you felt the injury was completely healed, with four-and-a-half months between competitive matches and now you're stepping into the US Open and the pressure cooker.

JESSICA PEGULA: I think I was a little surprised that he didn't play Cincy but then still played here because of that. I thought, wow, that's a tough thing to do, but I think he's kind of a special player, obviously.

It may be also a little bit different for the men, three out of five. I do think it gives a little more leeway for him to work his way into matches, where if it's two out of three, like for the women, that to me is a little bit tougher because you lose the first set and you come out a little rusty, you're, like, Oh, my gosh, if I don't win the second set, then I'm out.

So I think the men having more time with the three out of five is probably something that makes me think, okay, maybe it makes a bit more sense for him to do that.

But, yeah, he's a special player. I mean, he's a super-charismatic, friendly, outgoing person. I think he's going to feed off of the energy no matter what. I don't think he's forgotten how to play tennis. I think if he can win his first couple of rounds, he's gonna find his form very, very fast.

Q. Novak just released a documentary. You, as a player, do you watch these documentaries when they come out, and did you see Novak's?

JESSICA PEGULA: I love documentaries. I have actually not watched his. That's a good reminder that I need to. I absolutely loved Rafa's. I thought it was just incredible, and it just showcased so many things that people, athletes like us but also special athletes like them, go through.

I love just getting different perspectives on how athletes are. I think Novak's very different from Roger and Roger is very different from Rafa. It's cool to see them being vulnerable I think, as well, because they are all very different, and I think it also shows you don't have to think one way, right? Like, there is different mindsets. People play for different reasons.

I love watching it for that reason, especially. So, yeah, I need to watch Novak's soon.

Q. Are there things you find you learn that you maybe didn't know, because ostensibly, you're sharing this space with them and you feel like you should know maybe as much as...

JESSICA PEGULA: I think a lot of it is pretty -- they are all very different, but I think at the end of the day it's a similar mindset. It's just how did they access that or how did they deal with it or what is their driving force behind it.

So it's always interesting to me to know, like, what maybe drives them. I think that's maybe something that you don't really see. Of course we know that they are competitive and they love tennis and they want to play and they want to win. But what truly drives them I think stems a lot from their childhood and maybe how they started playing in juniors or if there were obstacles they had to overcome.

So I love just seeing that different perspective of a more personal side to why they do what they do.

Q. Have you seen the Chris-Martina documentary?

JESSICA PEGULA: I actually haven't. I say I like to watch documentaries. I haven't seen either of those. I honestly, like, wanted to cry just watching the preview, and I was like, I just need to give myself a second before I watch it.

Yeah, is it good?

Q. It is really good. Sort of a silly hypothetical question, but would you rather, at this point in your career, win a major or achieve the No. 1 ranking, which is sort of indicative of a period of excellence rather than maybe a one-off. And if one or the other, why?

JESSICA PEGULA: Well, I think if I win a major, I will be No. 1. So I'm just going to say that. (Laughter.)

I mean, I think at this point I have been ranked No. 3. I would like to win a major, and I think the No. 1 spot will be more available if I'm able to do that. I guess that's my way of thinking.

When I was younger, I never really said I wanted to Wimbledon or I wanted to win the US Open. I actually wanted to be No. 1 in the world. I definitely hold a lot of value in that, just because it was something that when I was seven years old, I was just like, Oh, this is the coolest thing, like you're the best in the world at something.

There's not many sports you can really say that or do that. That's what I want to do. I just wanted to be told I was the best in the world at something, more so than win a slam.

So I do think I have a little bit of a personal childhood kind of memory tied to that specifically. Maybe more so than winning a slam.

Q. It sort of feels like such a long event now. We have been here almost a week already. Do you get any, like, requests saying that you wanted to play today or wait until Tuesday, maybe get maximum rest, but that might feel like torture to be here a week and not get on the court? What would you want to do?

JESSICA PEGULA: I think last year I did pretty well and I played Sunday, and then I had the two days. That was the first year I played like that before, played on the first day now that we start on Sundays.

It is a little bit weird, but I did kind of enjoy that, like, I could breathe for the next couple of days and everyone else is still freaking out about whether they're going to win their first round.

So as long as I got through today, I think I was happy with playing Sunday. I had a really good practice week, and honestly, sometimes lingering around on the practice court for another two days to overthink a million other things until your match can be really tough. I think it's only beneficial really if you need more time, if maybe you have an injury or something, is ailing you and you just need more time to play Tuesday.

It really depends how you're feeling. I was happy to play Sunday. They told me, like, the day before it would probably be one of the Sunday matches. Yeah, I was fine with that.

Q. That was kind of my question, but following up on that, do you do anything different now that you have two days off, or is it just sort of alternating days?

JESSICA PEGULA: Well, like today after my match, I went and did some extra stuff on the court just because I know I have two days. I didn't think it was that big of a deal. At least that's what I tell my coaches, I have two days, like, it's fine.

Yeah, I think if you want to work on something extra, you do kind of have a little bit of a buffer day, whereas like tomorrow, I can still have a pretty like high-intensity practice and then like taper off the day after that before I play. I think that probably helps a little bit.