Jessica Pegula’s return to tennis did not go to plan as she let a one set lead slip to lose to Jelena Ostapenko in the second round of the Wuhan Open.
Pegula had not played a competitive match since losing to Aryna Sabalenka in the semifinals of the US Open and her rustiness certainly showed in the latter stages of the match.
However, in the opening two sets she was very impressive and she even had multiple match points to put Ostapenko away and continue her Wuhan Open campaign.
During the opening set, Colin Fleming, who was commentating on the match for Sky Sports Tennis, was full of praise for the American number one.
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Speaking about Pegula’s striking technique, the former doubles star said: “I’m not sure that many players in tennis, and I deliberately say in tennis, meaning men’s and women’s. I’m not sure many time the ball better than Jess Pegula.
“I mean in terms of having clean, compact technique, forehand and backhand. The ball coming out the middle of the racket. Weight going through the shot, she is in sync with her ball striking isn’t she?
“Watching her practice at the US Open, it was the first thing that struck me. Every shot coming out the middle of the bat for Pegula.”
Pegula will try and return to winning ways at the Ningbo Open, which begins on October 19th and runs until October 25th.
She has signed up for the WTA 500 tournament alongside the likes of Alex Eala, Belinda Bencic, Elena Rybakina, and Iga Swiatek, so it is a stacked field.
However, Pegula is in the very nice position of not having to scrabble for results like some of her rivals, as she has already qualified for the WTA Finals.
Pegula will be looking for match sharpness only at her final few tournaments of the year, which could lower the pressure she feels to win the title.
She will want to enter the WTA Finals as fresh as possible, as the tournament takes place on home soil this year at Indian Wells.
The tournament begins on November 7th and the likes of Aryna Sabalenka, Coco Gauff, Mirra Andreeva, Rybakina, and Elina Svitolina have already qualified for the tournament.
There is just one space left in the tournament, with the likes of Iva Jovic, Swiatek, Marta Kostyuk, and Karolina Muchova vying for a place at the year-end tournament.
Pegula has previously reached the final of the WTA Finals, in 2023, but she has never lifted the title. She was beaten in 2023 by Swiatek.
