Jessica Pegula headlines a star-studded draw at the 2026 Mubadala DC Open. However, the American has admitted that she heads into the WTA 500 event without the ideal preparation after spending her brief post-Wimbledon break attending the weddings of her fellow tennis stars and juggling several off-court commitments.
Jessica Pegula Opens Up About Her DC Open Preparation
Pegula had a middling grass-court swing. Although she reached the final of the Berlin Tennis Open, her Wimbledon campaign ended in a quarterfinal defeat to Coco Gauff. After returning home for a short break, the American was back on the road to celebrate wedding festivities in the tennis community.
The world No. 3 first traveled to New York to attend Tommy Paul’s wedding to Paige Lorenze, where she was joined by Taylor Fritz, Frances Tiafoe, and other tennis stars. Pegula’s husband, Taylor Gahagen, also made a rare appearance at the festivities. She then headed to Vancouver to enjoy Asia Muhammad’s wedding to James Cross, alongside Desirae Krawczyk and Jennifer Brady.
As such, Pegula arrived at the DC Open with minimal preparation under her belt. During her pre-tournament press conference, the 32-year-old revealed that several off-court commitments had left her with little time to gear up for the event.
“I didn’t have a lot of prep. I was traveling a lot and had a lot of other work stuff to do that wasn’t just on the court, a lot of off-court stuff, and a lot of commitments that I had set up,” Pegula said.
The American disclosed that her original plans did not include competing at the WTA 500 event in Washington, D.C. However, the tournament’s convenient location made it a valuable preparatory stop before the WTA 1000 events in Toronto and Cincinnati.
“I wasn’t originally supposed to actually play here. I ended up adding it to my schedule just because I felt it’s so close to me. It’s not that far away. It’s an easy tournament to play, especially before we go to Toronto and Cincinnati,” she added.
Pegula also opened up about enjoying her fellow tennis stars’ weddings even though they left her with less-than-ideal preparation, saying, “I went to a couple of weddings, had a lot of fun, and then did a lot of work in between. So it was a busy week. Not going to lie, my prep probably hasn’t been ideal, but it is what it is.”
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Having received a first-round bye, No. 1 seed Jessica Pegula will have extra time to fine-tune her preparations ahead of her opening match against Magdalena Fręch or Ann Li. The world No. 3 is on the hunt for her second title at the DC Open, having lifted the trophy in 2019 after a win over Camila Giorgi in the final.
