Taylor Fritz and Jessica Pegula were unexpectedly thrust into a blockbuster partnership in the US Open mixed doubles event after their original partners, Elena Rybakina and Jack Draper, were forced to withdraw from the contest.
Fritz and Pegula’s highly anticipated campaign ended in a disappointing loss, and both players have addressed their exit.
Why Taylor Fritz Apologized to Jessica Pegula After Their US Open Mixed Doubles Stint
No. 2 seeds Pegula and Fritz locked horns with Casper Ruud and Diana Shnaider in the first round of the star-studded US Open mixed doubles competition. Ruud and Shnaider dominated the encounter, claiming a 4-2, 4-1 victory over the American duo to advance to the quarterfinals.
While speaking to the press ahead of her singles campaign, Pegula acknowledged the underwhelming result and cited Fritz’s serving struggles as a key factor in the loss. She also joked about teaming up with Ruud in 2027 to avoid losing to him again, following her and Jack Draper’s defeat to the Norwegian and Iga Świątek in the semifinals last year.
“It did not go great for me and Taylor. I don’t know. Casper, man, he’s beaten me two years in a row. Maybe I need to ask him to play with me next year just to eliminate him beating me in the tournament. But no, I mean him and Diana played really well. I figured it would be tough. But Taylor, he got broken twice. That’s just kind of mixed, if the guy isn’t able to serve that great, it can get kind of tough,” Pegula said.
Fritz agreed with his fellow American’s assessment, taking responsibility for the “disappointing” loss and apologizing to Pegula for his problems on serve.
“I have three Tie Break Tens titles, but disappointing. I’ll be the first to say, between me and Jess, I apologize to Jess. It was definitely on me. I can’t go out and get my serve broken twice in the mixed. That’s really not okay,” Fritz told the media.
“I don’t think I played that bad. It was just not the best serving performance. And in this format of mixed doubles, it’s so much like, you get broken, you kind of just lose the set. Like it happens so fast with the four games. So yeah, it was on me,” he added.
Fritz also emphasized his determination to bounce back with a better result at next year’s edition, saying, “I mean, really determined. It’s pretty pretty sad for me. I have two first-round exits here at the US Open mixed.”
Jessica Pegula and Taylor Fritz are now focused on their respective singles campaigns at the US Open. Pegula is set to kick off her campaign against Elena-Gabriela Ruse, while Fritz will face Darwin Blanch in an all-American clash in the first round.
