Jessica Pegula’s US Open is over, ended by Aryna Sabalenka.
But the American heiress’s rise up the tennis world’s wall bars is far from over.
No, Pegula didn’t have the power to withstand Sabalenka’s forehand howitzer, nor enough weapons to win Saturday’s final at Flushing Meadows. The world’s second-ranked player hit 40 aces and overpowered her in one or two key moments to claim a narrow 7-5, 7-5 victory.
Pegula has shown a desire to improve and a willingness to work.
Pegula, a 30-year-old late bloomer who had never reached a Grand Slam semifinal before this week, will finish the US Open as a finalist and the third-ranked player in the world, living proof that hard work can take you far.
“My movement and my serve have gotten a little bit better. So there are certain parts that are maybe a little bit more consistent than they used to be,” Pegula said. “Baseline-wise, (my serve) doesn’t fluctuate as much as the weeks and matches go by. I would say the same thing about my movement.”
“Do I see the ball like a watermelon every day? Not quite. But I think maybe that’s why I feel like I’m playing my best tennis because of these other things.”
For the first time in her career, Pegula has shown that her best player can fight for a Grand Slam title.
“I’m more than sure you’ll get one one day,” Sabalenka said during the awards ceremony, adding: “Maybe more. But start with one.”
And that’s it. Pegula, who admitted she struggled through periods where she questioned whether she wanted to play at all, is now not only playing but still getting better at an age when others are already quitting.
World number one Iga Swiatek, who defeated Pegula 6-2, 6-4 in the quarterfinals, is only 23 years old, as is her American semifinalist Emma Navarro.
And Pegula’s doubles partner Coco Gauff – who won in Flushing last year – is the epitome of a phenomenon at just 20 years old.
But Pegula is 30, about the same age as Danielle Collins and Garbine Muguruza, who retired, and two years older than Ashleigh Barty. But she changed coaches this year, reshaped her body, and is still working and honing the limits. And that work and the resulting results give her confidence.
“Oh yeah. If I can’t get confidence from that, something must be wrong. I’ve got confidence from winning a 250, a 1000, and the possibility of winning another 1000, several now. And then making it to the Grand Slam final was pretty much the last thing for me. I’ve made it to the quarter-finals many times, but can I make it to the semi-finals? Can I actually be a contender for a Grand Slam?
“I’m sure I’ll get a lot of confidence out of this in an hour or two, because I’m kind of annoyed. … I’m just annoyed that I just lost. Everyone says, ‘Congratulations, great tournament.’ I say, ‘Eh, whatever.'”
Pegula has definitively answered the question of whether she can fight for a Grand Slam title.
Competition is their strength.
Pegula has shown a determination to improve. Six years ago he was ranked just 125th and at the end of 2020 he was a modest 62nd. Even after the difficult jump into the top 10, that was not enough for Pegula. This is not surprising.
As the daughter of Terry and Kim Pegula – the billionaire owners of the Buffalo Bills and Sabres – she never wanted to settle for mediocrity.
Pegula has admitted that her father pushed her to perform well on the field, and she attributes her calm, cool demeanor to her mother – the mother who nearly died of cardiac arrest in June 2022, who publicly got out of her car just that July – supported by Terry – and broke up the Bills’ gathering to end training camp that day.
And on Saturday, Pegula said her parents were both at Arthur Ashe Stadium to witness her big moment.
Pegula showed a fighting spirit that would have made her mother proud. She was fighting for a Grand Slam title.
The next step is to win a copy.
“She’s a very ambitious young lady and she felt like she had what it takes to win a Grand Slam tournament,” coach Mark Knowles told The Post. “But it takes more belief. And I think she did it.”
