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WTA's No.4 Jessica Pegula expressed pride in her Korean heritage after winning the Korean Open in Seoul. She has a special connection to Seoul, as this was the place from where her mother Kim was adopted.
Jessica Pegula secured victory at the Seoul Open on Sunday, defeating Chinese tennis player Yue Yuan 6-2, 6-3. She became the first American to claim the title in Seoul since Venus Williams in 2007. During her journey to the final, Pegula faced off against Viktoria Hruncakova, Ashlyn Krueger, Claire Liu and Yanina Wickmayer.
In a post-match conference, Pegula shared that she's half Korean and while she regrets not speaking the language, she enjoys Korean barbecue and kimchi, which connects her to her Korean heritage. Her mother is Korean, and the latter was adopted from Seoul, making her win there especially meaningful.
"I am actually half Korean, I'm sorry I don't speak, but I do like Korean barbecue and I do like kimchi, I guess that's the Korean in me. But yes, my mom is Korean and she was adopted from here so it's really special to be able to win here and not a lot of people can say that," Pegula said.
Pegula, born in New York, mentioned that in recent years, her ranking has risen, and she has felt much more fan support than expected, especially since her return to Korea after five years.
"It's really cool and the last few years my rankings gone up and I have definately felt so much more support from you guys the fans and a lot more than I expected coming back here 5 years ago so its really special, so thank you guys so much for coming out and I hope you come next year," Pegula said.
Highlights from Jessica Pegula's 2023 season
Jessica Pegula has had a successful season so far in 2023. Her victory over Yuan Yue in the Korea Open final marked her second title of the season and her fourth overall.
In January, she advanced to the quarterfinals of the Australian Open but was defeated by Victoria Azarenka. Later, she reached the final of the Qatar Open but was bested by World No.2 Iga Swiatek. In both Miami and Charleston, she made it to the semifinals.
Pegula also secured a spot in the Tokyo finals but was beaten by Kudermetova. At Wimbledon, she reached the quarterfinals before losing to Vondrousova. The Canadian Open saw her clinch the title with a dominant 6-1, 6-0 victory over Liudmila Samsonova in the final.
