Jessica Pegula Continues Love Affair with…

There’s something about Canada that just seems to bring out the best in Jessica Pegula.

Playing her fourth consecutive semifinal at the National Bank Open presented by Rogers, the third-seeded American moved one step closer to becoming the first woman since Martina Hingis — in 1999 and 2000 — to win back-to-back titles in Canada with a dominant 6-4, 6-3 win over No. 14 seed Diana Shnaider on Sunday evening.

With this victory, Pegula improves to 16-2 in main-draw play at the National Bank Open. In the Open Era, only Chris Evert and Monica Seles have better records in their first 18 matches at this event (both 17-1).

“Getting a chance to defend my title is something that doesn't always happen, so I'm excited that I get to put myself in a good spot tomorrow to do so,” Pegula told reporters during her post-match press conference. “I think it's cool to have my name with a lot of other really big names in history that have either played well here or been able to defend the title as well, so it's super special.”

Pegula, the highest-ranked player left in the singles draw going into semifinal Sunday at Sobeys Stadium, admitted that she was still looking to recapture the same form that she displayed on the road to winning her second WTA 1000 title in Montreal last year. She got off to a slow start against a surging Shnaider, who has already won three WTA 250 titles this year (along with an Olympic silver medal in women’s doubles with Mirra Andreeva) and toppled No. 1 seed Coco Gauff earlier this week en route to reaching her first WTA 1000 semifinal.

After Shnaider went up an early break in the opening set, Pegula responded with an immediate break back and slowly found her rhythm in the rallies, using her flat, piercing groundstrokes to keep Shnaider on the back foot and draw errors from her opponent in the gusty conditions. Both players remained evenly matched throughout the 83-minute encounter, but the difference was in the unforced errors column: Pegula hit 11 winners and 15 unforced errors, while Shnaider hit 10 winners and 27 unforced errors.

“I thought I played better today, maybe than the last few matches. The conditions were still really tough, and then playing a lefty is very tricky, and also someone that I never played or practiced with, so I had no idea what to expect,” Pegula explained. “I thought I played really smart. I felt I kind of adjusted my game plan a couple games in because I felt like what I thought going in wasn't going to work, so I had to adapt a little bit, but I'm proud that I was able to figure that out.”

Standing in Pegula’s way of a third WTA 1000 crown is American Amanda Anisimova, who, after upsetting World No. 3 Aryna Sabalenka on Saturday, defeated No. 8 seed and compatriot Emma Navarro in the first semifinal of the day. Pegula has won both of her previous meetings with Anisimova, but their last match in Charleston earlier this year went to a third-set tiebreak.

“I think Amanda has always been a really super talented player, and is a top player when she's healthy. … Obviously, she took a little bit of a break there, which is great, and it's good to see her back playing top tennis,” Pegula said, referring to the burnout-induced break that Anisimova took from competition last year. “I think everyone knows she's a threat every time she steps on court. She's probably one of the biggest, cleanest ball strikers I've ever played against, so when she's on, it can be really, really tough.”

Pegula will certainly have her hands full against Anisimova, who has won nine of her first 10 matches of this North American hardcourt swing. “I'm going to have to do my best to just make her play a lot of extra balls, and try to be aggressive when I can, because when she's on, she can hit a lot of winners and take the racquet out of your hand sometimes,” Pegula said. “I'm going to have to be smart tomorrow.”

In the last three years, Pegula has emerged as one of the most consistent players on the Hologic WTA Tour — and that kind of consistency week-in, week-out has propelled her to a career-high ranking of No. 3 in the world.

As her profile has risen, Pegula admits that she has also become more aware of her position as one of the most prominent Asian American athletes in sports — in large part because her mother, Kim, was the first woman and Asian American woman to become the president of a major league sports team. Pegula has since followed in her mother’s footsteps as a member of the WTA Players Council and joined the Asian American Pacific Islander Tennis Association as a founding member of the board of directors.

In short, Pegula knows the importance of representation, particularly for the younger Asian tennis fans who have come out to support her this week in Toronto.

“As I've definitely gotten ranked higher — and I played, actually, in Korea several times now — it's been like a drastic change [in terms of] how much I've been, I guess, welcomed and rooted for and cheered for,” she said of the response that she has received from Korean and Asian fans in particular. “I think [my mom and I have] definitely been a lot more open and [are] kind of like, ‘Oh, wow, they're super supportive and they think it's really cool [that we’re also Korean].’ I just think it's amazing when I see the really young girls that are also maybe half-Korean, and they're like, ‘Oh, my God, I'm half-Korean just like you,’ and I'm just like, ‘Oh, my God, this is the cutest thing ever, that they make that kind of connection I think is super sweet.”

And while the singles final will be contested between two Americans this year, Pegula thinks she may have some more support from the Canadian fans, given her connection to Buffalo. (Pegula’s parents own the Buffalo Bills of the NFL and the Buffalo Sabres of the NHL.)

“I'm sure there will be some ‘Go Bills’ people yelling — there always is, especially here,” Pegula said with a laugh. “I think maybe I'll be a little bit of the home crowd favorite, which will be fun considering I'm not exactly from here, but I'm very close. It's cool to get that support in a different country.”

The WTA's best return to Toronto this summer for the National Bank Open August 4 to 12, 2024 at Sobeys Stadium. 2024 Tickets are on sale. Get your tickets today!

Feature Photo: Peter Power