Jessica Pegula has made a Grand Slam quarter-final many times, but it was only at this year’s US Open that she finally made the semi-finals, and she was very happy about it.
The 30-year-old American might not be the flashiest tennis player out there, nor is she the biggest crowd magnet, but she is an excellent player. For a couple of years now, Pegula has been able to make solid runs at the Grand Slam level, but she was never able to go all the way.
Making the semi-final would have been a nice start for her, but she wasn’t able to get it done in her previous six attempts. That’s how many times she reached a quarter-final without advancing past that stage until she finally did this year.
Her first major quarter-final came in 2021 at the Australian Open, where she lost to Jennifer Brady, who went on to reach the final that year. Her next came a year later in Australia again, where she lost to Ashleigh Barty.
Iga Swiatek stopped her in the 2022 Roland Garros quarter-final and did the same later that year in the US Open quarter-finals. In 2023, Pegula lost in the Australian Open quarter-finals to Victoria Azarenka, while Marketa Vondrousova stopped her in the 2023 Wimbledon quarter-finals.
Oddly enough, she didn’t make any quarter-finals this year until the US Open, as she missed Roland Garros due to injury. She reached the US Open quarter-finals and, this time around, delivered a really solid display to beat Iga Swiatek and finally book her maiden Grand Slam semi-final.
Besides being overjoyed at making the semi-final, Pegula was also happy because she wouldn’t be asked about her track record at Slams anymore. She was 0-6 in the quarter-finals before this win over Swiatek, and she was getting asked about it very often.
“I’m so happy that you guys cannot ask me about making it to the semis. It wasn’t even a me thing, it was more like people asking me. I’m really happy to make it through to the semi-finals. I have been [to the quarterfinals] so many freakin’ times.”
“I just kept losing. But to great players … everyone keeps asking me about it, but I was like, ‘I don’t know what to do. I just need to get there again and win the match.”
Pegula has been a beacon of consistency in tennis, as she’s been a solid Top 10 player on the WTA Tour for a couple of years. She kept playing well but often ran into players who could simply find a better level on the given day.
This time around, she was the one who found a better level, besting Swiatek in two sets. The run doesn’t have to end in the quarter-finals, but taking out Karolina Muchova will be pretty complicated. However, Pegula will be up for the task, as she recently beat the Czech player in Cincinnati.
