Can Jessica Pegula channel Charleston momentum on Madrid’s red clay?

Pegula has additionally discovered a scarcity of weaknesses has its perks, inspiring a late-career openness to improvisation.

“I’ve taken a lot of things that I’ve seen players like to do to me, and it makes me less predictable in my pattern,” she stated. “It’s not even one thing I’m serious about, however one thing I’ve been in a position to naturally do.

“I’ll think about the opposite side of the net and anticipating what players think I’m going to, and then do the opposite! That sounds simple, but it helps.”

The American’s 2026 entrée to clay was a veritable baptism by hearth towards a cadre of dirtballers, most of whom put Pegula on the brink of defeat. Her ultimate match ended up being the best of all, a 6-2, 6-2 victory over the match’s Cinderella story, Yuliia Starodubtseva.

“It’s actually nice that I played much better today because I think I have a bit more confidence. In the other matches, I wasn’t feeling my best or playing my best tennis, so I think I’m going to build off what I can do better,” she instructed me. “Today at least shows I’m able to do some of the things better that I’d been doing in the previous matches this week. I’ll take that as positive momentum moving forward into my training.”