“It was so confusing”: Jessica Pegula shares chaotic drug-testing story during Billie Jean King Cup

Jessica Pegula has lifted the lid on one of the strangest moments of her career — a doping control mix-up that left her completely baffled during the Billie Jean King Cup in Shenzhen. Speaking on The Players’ Box Podcast alongside Jennifer Brady and Madison Keys, the world No. 6 described the chaotic sequence of events that unfolded just before her match. “It was so confusing,” Pegula said, laughing. “I had no idea what was going on. I’ve never experienced anything like it before.”

The American recalled that the confusion began immediately after the event’s opening ceremony, when she was already shifting her focus to her warm-up routine. “This lady comes up and says, ‘You have to do drug testing,’” Pegula explained. “I was like, ‘Wait, what? The first set of Emma’s match is almost over — I could be on court in 30 minutes!’” She admitted she had no idea that players could be selected before competing, especially at team events such as the Billie Jean King Cup or Davis Cup.

What followed, she said, was a string of unclear instructions that made no sense. “They told me that if I went to the bathroom before my match, it had to count as my urine sample,” Pegula recounted. “But if I went during the match, that didn’t count — only after. I was just standing there thinking, ‘This can’t be real.’ It was such a weird set of rules.” The situation got even more bizarre when she realised one of the officials had little experience with doping control. “He told me, ‘It’ll be five minutes, no big deal,’” Pegula said. “And I was like, ‘No, sir — it’s not that quick.’”

Pegula eventually managed to complete the process, largely thanks to Emma Navarro’s three-set battle on court, which bought her some time. Still, the whole episode left her questioning the system. “It’s really not a quick process,” she said. “It was very confusing, and I’d never had to do that before. Why couldn’t they have asked me an hour earlier? I just didn’t understand.” The experience, she admitted, made her realise how inconsistent and unpredictable doping procedures can be — even at the highest level of professional tennis.

Pegula’s story after some high-profile doping cases. Iga Swiatek and Jannik Sinner, two of the sport’s biggest stars, both served suspensions in 2024 after testing positive for banned substances — incidents that sent shockwaves through the tennis world and left many players anxious about testing transparency.

Świątek’s case stunned fans when she tested positive for trimetazidine (TMZ) late in 2024, resulting in a one-month suspension. The ban, which ended in December, allowed her to begin the 2025 season with the matter “behind her,” though the controversy inevitably stained her otherwise clean image. The World No. 1 later described the experience as “traumatic” and called for clearer communication between governing bodies and athletes.

In Sinner’s case, the Italian tested positive for clostebol in March 2024, a substance often associated with topical treatments. After an investigation and a negotiated agreement with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), Sinner accepted a three-month suspension. He returned to the ATP Tour later that year, expressing frustration at how easily unintentional contamination could derail a player’s reputation.

Together, the Swiatek and Sinner cases have reignited debate about how tennis handles doping — from inconsistent rules to opaque communication. Pegula’s story, though humorous on the surface, underscores a real issue: even players with spotless records face confusion and anxiety over procedures that can vary from one event to another. As Pegula put it, “I just didn’t understand any of it.”