Jessica Pegula Adds Back-to-Back Wins in Toronto… National Bank Open

Jessica Pegula’s week has been a wild one to say the least.

The American No. 1 was scheduled to wrap up her time in Washington on Sunday following her final against Alexandra Eala, but a heavy downpour in the second set forced the title match to eventually be completed on Monday. The rain came back for more the next day, which caused a delay to the restart of the match, before the 32-year-old ultimately fell in three sets.

On Tuesday, Pegula hopped on a flight across the Northern border as the Buffalonian began her preparations for the National Bank Open presented by Rogers. The third seed’s opening match in Toronto was set for Wednesday afternoon.

Pegula had to battle for the win, dropping the first set against Magdalena Frech but still having more than enough left in the tank to turn things around.

Toronto fans didn’t have to wait long to see the two-time NBO titlist back on court as her round-three match was only about 24 hours later on Centre Court. The rain seemed to follow Pegula, though. The world No. 3 had to be patient through multiple stops in play, including one when she was five points away from closing out the match at 4-0, 40-15, in the second set.

Luckily for the American, this hasn’t been foreign to Pegula as of late and she comfortably sealed the straight-sets win over Kamilla Rakhimova.

“I’ve had a lot of experience the past week with these rain delays,” Pegula said in her post-match press conference on Aug. 6 in Toronto. “Three different warmups today was definitely not easy, but to be expected. I just tried to use my experience in those situations the best I could today.”

Pegula’s third rounder in the Ontario capital marked her third match in four days, with her only day of rest being a travel day. However, the American saw the positives despite the minimal amount of preparation.

“I didn’t have the most amazing prep, but I think sometimes those weeks are good because you realize that you don’t really need a ton of practice sometimes to go in and still have good results,” Pegula said. “I’ve had to learn over my career that sometimes less is more. Things don’t work out the way you want it to. You don’t have the perfect prep, you don’t have a perfect lead-up, and you have to learn that you can still trust yourself and your game to go out there.”

The back-to-back NBO champion from 2023-2024 began her 2026 campaign with back-to-back wins, something she failed to do at the event just once – last year.

Pegula’s string of matches will continue Friday as she pairs with compatriot McCartney Kessler to take on third seeds Sara Errani and Nicole Melichar-Martinez in round one of doubles. Then, the 32-year-old will be back in singles play on Saturday, facing Diana Shnaider exactly a week after beating the world No.17 in the Washington semis.

The WTA's best return to Toronto for the National Bank Open presented by Rogers Aug 1 to 13 at Sobeys Stadium. Get your tickets today!

Feature Photo : Morgan Givens/Wick Photography for National Bank Open