World No.6 Jessica Pegula made a shocking announcement on Thursday, November 7, when she revealed that she was pulling out of her impending clash with Iga Swiatek at the WTA Finals. The American has now explained the reasoning behind her decision, detailing how an injury issue forced her to make this choice.
Pegula was placed in the orange group at the tournament alongside Coco Gauff, Iga Swiatek, and Barbora Krejcikova. She opened her campaign in Riyadh against compatriot Gauff and was dealt a 6-3, 6-2 loss, which marked her first-ever loss to the 20-year-old in four matches. This defeat also put an end to Pegula's 14-match-long winning streak against any US player.
Up next, the American fought eighth-seed Barbora Krejčíková and lost that encounter with a scoreline of 6-3, 6-3. This put an end to Pegula's hopes of making it out of the group stage matches.
For her last match in Riyadh Pegula was to face Iga Swiatek, but she opted to withdraw from the same. Explaining her decision, Jessica Pegula wrote on X,
“What started as a really small issue flared over the last two matches and I just can’t continue tomorrow. I’m sorry to the fans and tournament. I really had a great week of prep and had high hopes here but it just wasn’t meant to be. Thank you for the warm welcome Riyadh.”
After her withdrawal, Jessica Pegula has been replaced by Daria Kasatkina. The Russian will now go up against Swiatek. Swiatek lost her opening match in Riyadh against Coco Gauff, and will need to win this encounter in order to make it to the semifinals.
Coco Gauff heaps praise on Jessica Pegula after their Riyadh clash
Despite losing to Coco Gauff, Jessica Pegula found plenty of support in her compatriot after their clash. Gauff labeled the 30-year-old as a ‘tough opponent’ and praised her ‘high-level’, saying,
“It was a tough match. She’s always a tough opponent. Overall I’m just happy with how I played. I think we were both playing at a high level, I was just able to break through on some of the more important points.”
Despite this lukewarm-running Riyadh, 2024 has been a promising year for Pegula. The American’s season has seen her reach the finals at the US Open and the Cincinnati Open. She was also the winner at the National Bank Open and Ecotrans Ladies Open.