"Oh my gosh, being away from everyone else is a massive thing for me" - Jessica Pegula explains reasoning for staying in different accommodation from rest of players

Jessica Pegula has her own views on staying in hotels while travelling to tennis events. Picking out the right one away from any commotion is a priority for her as she searches for her own accommodation over staying in player hotels.

The American can comfortably afford this through her heroics on the court, and the fact that she is one of the richest tennis players in the world thanks to being the daughter of Terry and Kim Pegula who own a portfolio of sports franchises, including NFL side Buffalo Bills.

Pegula has made her own career away from the industry, becoming one of the best and most consistent tennis players on the WTA Tour. She is enjoying a brilliant 2026 campaign that has seen her climb to fourth in the world ahead of the third Grand Slam tournament.

She has already reached three WTA finals this year, winning the WTA 1000 tournament in Dubai along with the Charleston Open before recently losing in the Berlin Ladies Open final against Linda Noskova. The 32-year-old comes to Wimbledon in good form following those matches played on grass and will hope to be among the title contenders as she searches for her first Grand Slam title.

Preparation for tournaments is key. Players have different routines suited to them that gets them match ready. One of Pegula's is to stay in her own hotel room away from the other players. With her travelling around so much of the year, it is hugely important in her view that she gets the right room to stay in.

"We're either on the court or we're in the hotel room. It's such a big part of our lives, and as I've gotten older, a good hotel has become more of a priority," Pegula said, citing her age as a pivotal factor in all of this.

"When you're 20, and you're just starting to travel, you're not complaining that much: you're more out there grinding and embracing life on tour. Once you hit 30 and kind of need a better pillow, that stuff honestly becomes really important."

Pegula chose to do this last year, and again at Roland Garros. It did not pay dividends in Paris following a surprising first round defeat to Kimberly Birrell. She will hope to have the reversing fortune in London as she explains her reasoning behind it.

"Oh my gosh, being away from everyone else is a massive thing for me," Pegula continued. "I think that's what maybe sparked this, as well. I just felt like, 'I can't do [player hotels] anymore.' When you're staying at a tournament hotel, I feel like it's so mentally draining. It's not like anyone is a problem.

"But if you were going to work with someone, you wouldn't necessarily want to eat breakfast with them, practice with them, be in the gym, have lunch, go to the locker room and the physio room with them, and then see them in all the elevators and the hallways.

"I don't think people realise that shouldn't happen, not with the people you're working and competing with every single week. We play pretty much every week together, and so, all of that together, you're ready to lose it."

In her prior six editions at Wimbledon, Pegula has failed to make it past the third round in five of them. The standout run came back in 2023 as she lost to Marketa Vondrousova. The Czech would go on to win the tournament.

Despite winning a brace of WTA 500 titles on grass and recently losing another final on the surface, Pegula has not enjoyed the best results at Wimbledon. With a 57%-win rate, it is the lowest out of all the Grand Slam tournaments.

Last year, Pegula came to Wimbledon following defeating Iga Swiatek in the Bad Homburg final. That form could not continue as she was defeated by Elisabetta Cocciaretto in straight sets. She commences her campaign on the opening Monday at SW19 against Darja Vidmanova.