Can Jessica Pegula step out of comfort zone on clay?

Jessica Pegula colors between the lines on the tennis court and she’s very good—Top 5 in the world good—at it. That may be her best quality, but it may also be her greatest weakness.

Emotionally, Pegula doesn’t get too low or too high. She’s not too timid, but not overly bold. Now 31 years old, Pegula has a comfort zone, and she likes to stay in it. She also has sharpshooter instincts as serve returner, as she demonstrated on Saturday in the Miami Open final when she broke world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka’s big serve three times in the first set—only to lose it and, not long thereafter, the match.

Read more: Aryna Sabalenka masters Jessica Pegula to win Miami Open

This loss to Sabalenka was Pegula’s third in a final over a roughly six-month span. Two of those were in tier-one Masters 1000 events, the other in a Grand Slam (US Open). Pegula didn’t win a set in any of them, yet four out of the six sets went to 7-5. The 26-year old Belarusian has four inches and a lot of lean muscle on Pegula but it is rarely the case of the savage hitter overwhelming the diligent American.

As Sabalenka told the press after winning the Miami final, 7-6, 6-2, “I think every time we play against each other, it's all about those few key points in each set. So, it's not like I'm winning it easily.”

That comment is unlikely to make Pegula buy a round for the house, but it does offer hope. Pegula could be more willing to let it rip, à la Sabalenka, push the envelope on what she does best at key moments. But that would require departing from her comfort zone. That’s not an easy ask for a player as fundamentally conservative as Pegula.

The margins at the top of the game are slender. Pegula’s style has carried her close to the very pinnacle, and staying the course could still get her there. But a few moments in the Miami final suggested that leavening her game with a little more risk could have a disproportionately big payoff for Pegula.

The fourth game of the second set, with Pegula serving at 1-2, was a key moment. She had recovered from 0-40 to reach game point, but Sabalenka played a great point while Pegula played merely a good one, only to see the favorite snatch the point, and then the game, out of her hands.

I know I'm known more for being a hard-court player...but I think I can do well on the clay too. So hopefully, with some of those intangibles that I have added to my game, that can help me have a good clay season. Jessica Pegula

On the changeover, Mark Merklein, who co-coaches Pegula, could be seen on the broadcast exhorting his frustrated employer to, “Use the slice sometimes, too much one-speed. She’s loving that.”

It was clear from Pegula’s reaction that she didn’t love the idea. Mixing up the pace that way isn’t her preferred tactic. It would take her out of her comfort zone.

Pegula’s outstanding liability is her serve, particularly her second serve. She is vulnerable to aggressive returners, among whom Sabalenka is a paragon. In their US Open final, Pegula won just 21% of her second-serve points. Analysts have suggested various ways to mitigate that vulnerability, from hitting heavier spin or off-speed first serves. When Pegula tried that, it was already too little, too late.

“Yeah, the serve. . . I started mixing in a lot more kick serves, which I think helped, but it was kind of a little bit too late,” Pegula said after the match, admitting that she might have done that earlier in the first set instead of waiting, or until she was down 0-30 or 0-40. “Maybe that would have helped me put more pressure on her in those return games, and take some pressure off of me not having to come back from 0-40.”

Pegula is young and smart enough to draw lessons from her recent history. None of these recent losses has dimmed her enthusiasm or determination.

“I know I'm known more for being a hard-court player,” she said, contemplating the upcoming challenge of clay. “But I think I can do well on the clay too. So hopefully, with some of those intangibles that I have added to my game, that can help me have a good clay season.”

Tweaks and those “intangibles” could still lead to bigger payoffs for Pegula. Those who color between the lines often like to learn, and they have a lot of patience.