Jessica Pegula did not shy away from a blunt self-assessment after grinding through her opening match at the Charleston Open. Despite pulling off a hard-fought 4-6, 6-4, 7-5 win over Yulia Putintseva, Pegula described her performance on serve as her poorest of the season and admitted that her own decision-making played a role.
The American pointed directly to stubbornness as a factor, acknowledging that her approach did not fully adjust to the slower clay conditions.
Jessica Pegula Reflects on Serving Struggles and Costly Decision-Making in Charleston
Pegula’s serve proved vital in the high-stakes moments during her second-round victory. She recorded 3 aces and kept errors low with only 2 double faults, winning 63% of her first-serve points. Despite a modest 56% first-serve percentage, she managed to hold serve in 10 games, winning 48% of her second-serve points under heavy pressure from Putintseva’s returns.
Statistically, the match was nearly deadlocked, with Pegula winning 122 total points to Putintseva’s 115. The difference came down to break point efficiency; Pegula converted 39% (7/18) of her chances compared to Putintseva’s 32% (6/19).
Speaking after her Charleston second-round victory in a Tennis Channel segment, Pegula offered a detailed breakdown of her transition from hard courts to clay and where she felt things went wrong.
“I think I keep bringing the stuff that I have gotten so much better at on hard into the clay because at the end of the day, I’m never going to play like a true clay courter,” she said. “I’m still going to take the ball early, I’m still going to do those things, change the direction of the ball, and all of that. So I don’t want to shy away from that.”
She outlined subtle but important tweaks, adding, “I think being okay with slicing a little more on the defense. I like to use my drop shot a lot. That’s one shot that I can bring out on the clay quite a bit, which I showed today. And I think getting used to hitting the ball maybe a little bit further behind the baseline if I have to reset the point.”
The most striking part of her analysis came when she addressed her serve. “I’ve been serving really well this year. This match was the worst match I’ve served all year,” Pegula said. “But it’s different serving on clay, so I need to remember that you’re not playing on a fast hardcourt.”
“The serving kind of changes and you’re setting up the point a little bit more. And I think I was a little stubborn today with that. So I just need to keep that in mind, serve a little bit smarter on the clay.”
MORE: Jessica Pegula Admits Pressure of Defending Her Charleston Title Despite the ‘Honor’
Key Highlights From Jessica Pegula’s Sunshine Swing Run
The Charleston opener came on the heels of a steady Sunshine Swing for Pegula. At the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, she battled through three-set matches against Donna Vekić and Jelena Ostapenko and defeated Belinda Bencic before falling in the quarterfinals to Elena Rybakina. Her doubles run there ended early alongside McCartney Kessler.
In the Miami Open, Pegula again reached the last eight with wins over Leylah Fernandez and Jaqueline Cristian, only to run into Rybakina once more. She also made a solid doubles push with Storm Hunter, advancing to the quarterfinals before losing to the fourth-seeded duo of Elise Mertens and Zhang Shuai.
Looking ahead, Pegula will take on the 14th seed Elisabetta Cocciaretto in the Charleston Open third round. This will mark their third clash on the WTA Tour, with the head-to-head currently level between them. The victor will advance to the quarterfinals, where they will face either the ninth seed, Leylah Fernandez, or the seventh seed, Diana Shnaider.
