"I did have a heartbreaker there": Jessica Pegula reveals her toughest surface to master

Jessica Pegula surprised everyone by revealing which surface gives her the most trouble after her exit from Indian Wells. The American World No. 4 suffered a tough Round of 16 loss to Elina Svitolina (23rd), in a great performance by the Ukrainian, who turned the match around 5-7, 6-1, 6-2.

Pegula was far from her best level, partly due to Svitolina's outstanding play. One of the key talking points this year has been the changes to the surface at Tennis Paradise, with courts promising to be faster, using the same material as tournaments like the Miami Open, US Open, and Canadian Open.

Opinions have been divided. While some players felt the court was somewhat faster, others argued it was even slower. Undoubtedly, the weather conditions play a role, as California's desert climate and dryness favour a higher bounce, not to mention the wind has added another challenge.

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"I didn’t grow up playing a lot on grass"

Adapting to different surfaces is one of the biggest challenges players face throughout the year. The season begins with three months on hard courts, followed by the clay swing in Europe — culminating at the French Open after another three months — and then the grass-court season, with just a handful of tournaments over one month from mid-June to mid-July, ending at Wimbledon. All this before returning to hard courts in North America and Asia.

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The American World No. 4 mentioned in a recent interview with the Lawn Tennis Association that grass courts are the surface she struggles with the most. “Grass can be kind of frustrating sometimes, especially during the first week. I didn’t grow up playing a lot on grass,” she said. “Even though I do like it and I think I can play really well and my game suits the surface, sometimes it’s tricky that first week.”

“But it’s about being able to problem solve and not get too frustrated if you get a bad bounce or someone serving really well, I think you can always kind of find your way back into the matches.”

Pegula still managed to clinch her first grass-court title back in June 2024 after defeating Anna Kalinskaya in an epic battle at the Berlin Ladies Open final, 6-7[0-7], 6-4, 7-6[7-3].

She recently confirmed her participation in the Queen’s Club Championships, a new addition to the WTA Tour, which already has a men’s version. For the American, the tournament will be an ideal occasion to prepare for Wimbledon.

“I’ve had really good results there, but I did have a heartbreaker there so I think being able to flip the narrative in the next year and break through and make that final of a Grand Slam was really important for me because that quarter-final was super tough,” she added.

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“So hopefully I can turn it around and maybe make a semi or a final there at Wimbledon, I think that would be amazing and it has that prestigiousness there,” she added. “When it comes to doing well at a Slam, you know the US Open’s always great for me because I’m American, but Wimbledon has that prestigiousness to it and obviously I want to have the same results there.”

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