Stat of the Day: Jessica Pegula stuns Iga Swiatek at United Cup for first win over a No. 1

Jessica Pegula recorded the biggest win of her career at the United Cup in Sydney on Friday, and in stunning fashion, too, defeating world No. 1 Iga Swiatek, 6-2, 6-2, in just an hour and 11 minutes.

“I’ve played her in a lot of different places, but I definitely feel like these were the fastest conditions,” Pegula said afterwards.

“Also, I know they had a tough turnaround yesterday flying here, and we’ve been lucky enough to be here and maybe have a little bit of an advantage being used to the courts. But I wanted to take that and use it as much as I could, and I thought I did a really good job playing aggressive, serving smart and returning really well.”

The No. 3-ranked Pegula’s previous-best win by ranking came against then-No. 2 Naomi Osaka at Rome in 2021.

This was the 11th (and biggest) Top 10 win of her career.

PEGULA’S TOP 10 WINS (11):
d. No. 1 Swiatek in 2023 United Cup SFs
d. No. 2 Osaka in 2021 Rome 2nd Rd
d. No. 5 Svitolina in 2021 Australian Open 4th Rd
d. No. 6 Pliskova in 2021 Doha QFs
d. No. 6 Pliskova in 2021 Dubai 3rd Rd
d. No. 6 Pliskova in 2021 Miami 3rd Rd
d. No. 6 Badosa in 2022 Miami QFs
d. No. 6 Sakkari in 2022 Guadalajara F
d. No. 7 Svitolina in 2021 Indian Wells 4th Rd
d. No. 8 Sakkari in 2022 Australian Open 4th Rd
d. No. 10 Pliskova in 2021 Berlin 2nd Rd