Jessica Pegula has no complaints about the titles she’s won on grass courts, but the American star surely wants more. In the lead up to Wimbledon, Pegula has begun her grass campaign and is presently competing at the Berlin Tennis Open.
After advancing to the quarterfinals, the No. 3 seed addressed her grass-court success during her on-court interview.
Jessica Pegula Aims for Wimbledon Success As Berlin Run Continues
Over the last couple of years, Pegula has produced some notable performances on grass, especially on German grass. In 2024, she won her career’s first grass-court title in Berlin after saving a staggering five championship points against Anna Kalinskaya. Notably, she was staging a comeback after a few months on the sidelines due to a neck injury.
Pegula couldn’t replicate the success in 2025, as she lost a tight opening match against Liudmila Samsonova, but she made up for the defeat by winning the Bad Homburg Open the following week, beating Iga Świątek in the final. What’s peculiar is that the American, a 2023 quarterfinalist, then crashed out of Wimbledon in the first round while Świątek went on to win the elusive trophy.
Pegula subtly brought up the bitter reality when she won her second-round match at the 2026 Berlin Tennis Open. After a bye in the first round, the third seed defeated Kateřina Siniaková 6-2, 6-4 on Wednesday.
“Well, I like the German grass. Very specific. My results have seemed to just show that… that I like the German grass only,” she said.
Although satisfied with her performances in Germany, she did not shy away from expressing her desire to lift the trophy at Wimbledon and erase the German-specific stat.
“Hopefully in a couple of weeks, I can change that over into maybe some British grass,” Jessica Pegula said, laughing.
She also reflected on her injury ordeal in 2024, noting that her title triumph in Berlin that year held special significance.
“I think I’ve just always played well here. Obviously, I have really good memories on this court specifically. A few years ago, winning a title after coming off from being injured. My first grass-court title. So, I think that honestly gave me a lot of confidence coming here and playing well. Last year I didn’t do as well but had a really tough match.”
Manifesting luck on all grass! 🤣🌱@JPegula | #BTO26 pic.twitter.com/6GqjjjIkVr
— wta (@WTA) June 17, 2026
Pegula noted that she has been handed a tough draw at the tournament this year. In the quarterfinals, she awaits the winner of Madison Keys vs. Karolína Muchová. The winner could then potentially face Aryna Sabalenka in the semifinal.
She is also competing in doubles with Coco Gauff. The players face Fanny Stollár and Asia Muhammad for a place in the semifinal on Thursday, June 18.
The Berlin Tennis Open is the only warm-up event Pegula plans to compete at before Wimbledon. Despite being the defending champion in Bad Homburg, she doesn’t appear on the tournament’s entry list.
