"I was about to smash all my rackets" - Jessica Pegula after Charleston Open 2R win

Jessica Pegula has admitted that she was tempted to smash all of her racquets in the heat of the moment during her match against Irina-Camelia Begu at the 2023 Charleston Open.

Pegula demonstrated her resilience by overcoming a 4-0 deficit in the final set to defeat Begu 7-5, 4-6, 6-4 in a grueling two-hour and 30-minute contest on Thursday, April 6. The win enabled the American to secure her spot in the quarter-finals of the Charleston Open.

During the post-match on-court interview, Pegula shared her thoughts on the up-and-down match. In particular, the World No. 3 expressed her frustration at losing 10 games in a row.

"I have no idea, honestly. I don’t know at one point I was about to smash all my rackets and the next thing you know I’m here so that sentence though it’s never over till it’s over," Pegula said. "I mean, I just tried to get one game coz there’s a lot of games that I lost in a row. So I tried to get one game, then I tried to finally hold one game and then I just kept it rolling. So I’m just glad I was able to get there."

Pegula also claimed that her victory was a result of her being "tough" and refusing to surrender easily.

"I’m just tough. Imma tough it out and I’m not going to give it to you and even though I had a swing there, you know, I kind of went off and she started playing some great tennis. I’m just tough," Jessica Pegula said.

Jessica Pegula will face No. 12 seed Paula Badosa in the quarter-finals on Friday, April 7.

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"I won't be disappointed if I don't win a Grand Slam" - Jessica Pegula

Jessica Pegula at the 2023 Charleston Open

Jessica Pegula is playing the best tennis of her career, having recently secured the doubles title at the Miami Open alongside Coco Gauff. With (at least) a quarter-final appearance to show for at the Charleston Open, Pegula will participate in a series of significant events on clay over the next two months.

Pegula's goals have evolved in recent times, and her confidence in her own abilities has grown exponentially. But despite her remarkable progress, the 29-year-old is not placing undue pressure on herself to win a Grand Slam.

“I don’t think I would be disappointed [if I didn’t win a Slam],” she said. “But I think my goals and belief in what I can achieve—those definitely go up. It seems like they’ve gone up a lot in the last couple of years."