Jessica Pegula embracing the clay-court season, believes Swiatek is now an even bigger threat

American tennis pro Jessica Pegula is having a strong start to the 2022 season, and is set to kick off her clay-court season at the Credit One Charleston Open.

The 28-year old rose to a new career-high ranking of No.13 after making her third WTA 1000 semifinal last week at the Miami Open. Combined with a second Australian Open quarterfinal in January and two doubles titles, Pegula continues to build off a strong 2021 campaign.

With the clay-court season set to commence, Pegula spoke with WTA Insider about her expectations and challenges during this period.

"It's a new challenge right away," said Pegula. "I had one day back home and then drove straight here. It's already presenting a bunch of new challenges mentally and physically that I'm going to have to deal with starting when I play doubles. It's crazy how it can be such a quick turnaround.

"But I think again, trying to stay present, keep an open mind about what I need to do a little bit differently on clay and what I need to keep the same. And I think, too, just not letting it frustrate me. Maybe the bounces aren't as good, points can be longer, not getting frustrated with the different conditions because it's a long season. So just keeping an open mind and staying positive about everything here will help set me up for the next few months.

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"Some people can get really frustrated on the clay. I actually grew up in this area. I don't hate clay by any means. I think I have become more of a hard-court player, but sometimes I think I have to remind myself that I grew up playing on clay, especially the green clay. It's not the end of the world that it's clay-court season like some people make it out to be. You can still play good tennis."

When asked about possibly facing new World No.1 Iga Swiatek during the clay season, Pegula deemed the 2020 Roland Garros champion as a big threat on the red surface.

"I'm sure everyone else is thinking, "Oh crap." It's like when Rafa started learning how to play on grass and you were like, "Oh, shoot, we're all in trouble," said Pegula. "She won junior Wimbledon, so obviously she can play on grass. So that's also another scary thought, that we even have to think about that."