Jessica Pegula says she “does not really care” about at times being overlooked and underrated. Pegula, who is enjoying a career-high ranking of No 3 in the world, saw off 2022 Australian Open finalistDanielle Collins6-4 6-2 in the French Open first round.
Even though Pegula is one of the most consistent players and has been a top-5 player for quite some time now, she is often flying under the radar and not mentioned among the top favorites for the biggest titles. Going into this year’s French Open, pretty much all the attention was on Iga Swiatek, Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina.
“I don’t really care either way. I think I’m good with being under the radar; I’m good with not being under the radar. I mean, whatever. It doesn’t really matter. If that’s what it is this tournament, then that’s fine. If that’s how it’s going to be, I don’t have a problem with that.
I think it’s good either way. If one tournament I go in and I’m not, that means I’m playing well. So I think either way I’m fine with it,” Pegula said, via rolandgarros.com.
Swiatek, Sabalenka and Rybakina are the three players who have been consistently delivering in 2023 and they have shown the most so far this season.
That led to some calling them “women’s Big Three version.” Personally, Pegula is happy to see three girls consistently delivering and proving that consistency isn’t an issue on the WTA Tour. “To see them being so consistent, I think they’ve earned that right.
Obviously ranking-wise I’m still No.3, but I’m sure that could change. I could go up or down, whatever. It depends on results. But I think they’ve earned that title, and I think it’s nice to see three girls dominating. Hopefully I can be part of that conversation, but I think either way it’s still great for women’s tennis.
Especially because everyone always talks about the inconsistency and all this stuff. I just tend to think it’s because we have a lot of really great depth. It’s nice to see them playing really, really good tennis, and I feel like it’s good for the sport as well,” Pegula said.
