Road to the WTA Finals: Pegula's fight to reclaim her spot among the elite

In a season that started with burnout and stalled with injury, Jessica Pegula's self-belief and grounded work ethic guided her back to the WTA Finals Riyadh presented by PIF.

Last year, Pegula ran through the draw in Cancun before finishing runner-up to Iga Swiatek. Pegula had surged over the past three seasons to become a reliable member of the Hologic WTA Tour's Top 5. She had a way of making things look casual and automatic, but as 2024 began, she had a sinking feeling this could be her toughest season yet.

Road to the WTA Finals: Sabalenka | Swiatek | Gauff | Paolini | Rybakina | Pegula | Zheng

Meet the top doubles teams heading to Riyadh

"At the beginning of the year, I think I was just really run down, like, physically and mentally," Pegula said.

As she eyed her 30th birthday, Pegula switched up her coaching team and parted ways with longtime coach David Witt. Then came a rib injury in the spring. By the time the tour turned the corner into the second-half of the season, Pegula had missed four WTA 1000s and a Grand Slam. When she returned to competition on the grass, she was outside the Top 20 on the PIF Race to the WTA Finals. 

"I think I was definitely unsure and kind of lost some confidence," Pegula said. "But then at the same time, I think there was a point where I just tend to just kind of snap out of it, and I don't dwell on it too long. I let myself kind of feel uncertain and maybe a little lost. Then I kind of snap out of it, and I'm, like, I'll be fine, I'll just get through it, I'll find a way to improve, I'll find a way to get better."

Did she ever. Pegula won her second tournament back at the ecotrans Ladies Open in Berlin. To win her first grass-court title, she bested Coco Gauff in the semifinals and then dramatically saved five championship points to edge Anna Kalinskaya in the final.

When the tour returned to her favored hard courts, Pegula went on a tear, becoming the first player since Serena Williams to make the finals or better at the three biggest events of the summer hard courts -- Canada, Cincinnati and the US Open. 

Three months ago, Pegula didn't think she'd have a shot to defend her WTA Finals points this year. Now, she has to like her chances in Riyadh. Having been sidelined during the first half of the year, Pegula has bet on her battery being fuller than her fellow competitors' during these final months of the season. Next week, she'll get to test that theory one last time.

Season snapshot:
2024 tour-level win-loss record: 37-14
2024 titles: 2 (Berlin, Toronto)
2024 finals: 2 (Cincinnati, US Open)
Previous WTA Finals appearances: 2
Best WTA Finals result: 2023 Runner-up (l. Swiatek)

Defining moment: Pegula's trio of performances to finish off her Grand Slam breakthrough at the US Open each encapsulated not just Pegula's 2024 campaign, but her career writ large. Looking to snap her 0-6 drought in Slam quarterfinals, she toppled Iga Swiatek. Two days later, she used all her grit and guile to come from a set down to unravel Karolina Muchova in the semifinals.

Even her loss to Sabalenka in the final, a tight 7-5, 7-5 match that lasted nearly two hours, served as a showcase for Pegula's never-say-die attitude. 

Social buzz corner: Who can forget the hijinks that ensued from Pegula's first ride on the New York Subway and Long Island Railroad during the US Open?

Notable stats:

• Joined Rosie Casals (1970), Evonne Goolagong Cawley (1973) and Serena Williams (2013) as the only women in the Open Era to make the final at the Canadian Open, Cincinnati Open and US Open in the same season.
• Became the oldest American in the Open Era to reach a first Grand Slam singles final
• Became the first woman in the 21st century to win back-to-back titles at the Canadian Open
• Only player in the WTA Finals' elite eight to win titles on grass and hard court this season
• Won 38 of her first 50 matches this season, the best strike rate of her career
• Since the start of 2020, she trails only Swiatek and Sabalenka for the most hard-court wins on tour

From the camera roll: Pegula with the mic drop after securing her spot in the US Open final.

Hot shot: Pegula credits her improved movement under new coaches Mark Merklein and Mark Knowles for her success this season. The trio was just getting started when she pulled off this backhand zinger at the BNP Paribas Open. 

Memorable quote: Gotta keep the journalists on their toes.

"I would like to say I'm so happy that you guys cannot ask me about [not] making it to the semis." -- Pegula's first words in her press conference after defeating Muchova in the US Open semifinals.