Top-ranked American Jessica Pegula making up for lost time with heavy US Open workload

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“Being the No. 1 American,” Jessica Pegula told the crowd in Louis Armstrong Stadium on Thursday, “it’s pretty cool.”

Was that a subtle reminder of the 28-year-old’s current status? Pegula is indeed the highest-ranked U.S. player, man or woman, and the only one in the Top 10. But she hasn’t been No. 1 in the attention department so far at the Open. That honor, for good reasons, has gone to Serena Williams, and to a lesser extent Coco Gauff.

Serena’s last quest for a record-tying 24th major title has been the story of the week in all sports, not just tennis. At the same time, Gauff, who reached the Roland Garros final earlier this year at the promising age of 18, showed up on the cover of the New York Times Magazine under the headline, “Can Coco Gauff the Tennis Prodigy Become a Tennis Legend?” Williams and Gauff, who is partnering with Pegula in doubles, have each played their first two matches in Ashe Stadium.

Pegula played her first round in the Grandstand and second round in Armstrong; if the pattern holds, she’s due for a trip to Ashe sooner rather than later. But the exceptionally even-keel Buffalo native doesn’t seem like someone who needs a big stage for her performances. There’s already pressure on her to do well in New York. This is her home state, and while she has reached the quarterfinals at the Australian Open and French Open, she has never been past the third round here. She also has a manageable path to the quarters, where she’s slated to face top seed Iga Swiatek.

Pegula says she’s “kind of a perfectionist,” so her expectations for herself are always high. But she admits that this Open presents a “great opportunity.”

“I feel like I’m coming in here with more experience than last time, maybe playing a little bit better than last time,” says Pegula, who reached the semifinals in Toronto and the quarters in Cincinnati.

“I hope.”

“It’s day by day. You see a lot of upsets first round, second round, so I’m just trying to make my way through and do the best I can from there.”

Watching Pegula negotiate her way past Aliaksandra Sasnovich in the second round on Thursday, you could understand why she doesn’t like to get ahead of herself. While the 6-4, 6-4 scores looked routine, and Pegula never trailed, the match always felt like it could go careening off in another direction.

That’s because Sasnovich, despite being ranked 24 spots below Pegula, has as much speed and ball-striking flair as the American, if not more. When she was clicking, Sasnovich knocked Pegula backwards with the force of her shots, and broke her three times. She was also the one who showed off more athleticism at net.

I’m like, ‘Listen, guys, I was hurt for like three or four years. I’m trying to play everything I can now just because I love being out on court and I love playing. Jessica Pegula

But Sasnovich was also the player who alternated blazing winners with head-scratching errors. She would win four or five points in a row with a flurry of brilliance, then lose eight in a row with a flurry of mistakes. Pegula’s job was to stay steady while Sasnovich blew hot and cold, and pick her spots to attack.

It was a windy day at Flushing Meadows, so rather than go big constantly, the way Sasnovich did, Pegula waited until there was a worthy pay-off for her risk-taking. Serving for the first set, she followed a body serve forward and finished with a forehand winner; it was her most aggressive move of the match to that point. In the second set, when she reached triple break point at 4-4, Pegula upped the pace on her return and snapped off a clean winner.

“The conditions were tough,” she said. “Happy that I was able to kind of get in and get out and not make it any more difficult than it had to be.”

Pegula is a big believer in the “small goals lead to big goals” theory of success, and she’s sticking to that mantra here.

“I’m happy with how I’m playing,” she says. “If you’re playing unbelievable in the first round, then I feel like things sometimes can kind of go downhill from there a little bit, because it’s hard to sustain that level over two weeks.”

Pegula has given herself plenty of chances to fine-tune her game: She’s playing singles, doubles (with Gauff) and mixed (with Austin Krajicek). She says she’s just trying to make up for the time she lost due to hip and knee injuries.

“I’m like, ‘Listen, guys, I was hurt for like three or four years. I’m trying to play everything I can now just because I love being out on court and I love playing.”

That love for the game is a big factor in Pegula’s quiet rise. While stars like Ash Barty and Naomi Osaka have burned out, and other Top 10 players like Aryna Sabalenka and Maria Sakkari have fallen off the map for stretches, Pegula has shown that the slow and steady—and committed—approach can still win the race.

One of Pegula’s former coaches, Michael Joyce, told me that she disproves the idea that U.S. players are too coddled, or have too much given to them. Pegula is the daughter of Terry Pegula, billionaire owner of the Buffalo Bills. Jessica, despite her financial security, was still driven enough to turn herself into a Top 10 player at 28.

Serena and Coco deserve all the attention they’re getting, but Pegula’s journey does, too. New York City, and the third round of the US Open, really is a long way from Buffalo.