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The World No. 6 American star Jessica Pegula received light-hearted teasing from her mates, Madison Keys and Jennifer Brady, on her nickname that was lovingly given to her by Chinese fans. She has defeated World No. 1 Belarusian star Aryna Sabalenka in the semifinal round of the 2025 Wuhan Open and will face Coco Gauff in the title-winning match.
To reach the final round of the Wuhan Open, Pegula surpassed Hailey Baptiste, Ekaterina Alexandrova, and Katerina Siniakova. She overcame the winner of 21 WTA Tour singles titles, Sabalenka, in the semifinal with a concluding score of 2-6, 6-4, 7-6(2) at the Optics Valley Int'l Tennis Center.
Along with Madison Keys, Jennifer Brady, and Desirae Krawczyk, Jessica Pegula appeared on the Player's Box Podcast and received hilarious teasing from Keys and Brady for her nickname, 'Dafu,' which means 'Big Rich' in Chinese.
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"Well, the first lady told me it didn't translate exactly like that. It's not like mean, It's like good. It's like bountiful. But they literally just say it to me now. Like that's my name. I'm like 'Oh thanks,'" Pegula mentioned (31:21 onwards)
She continued:
"I asked them for a more humble nickname, but I don't think they're just like, "No," they're very straight to the point, and they find these really I mean, everybody has all these different nicknames. So they just find stuff. I don't know if they just do research of funny moments." (29:17 onwards)
To which Grand Slam Champion, Madison Keys added:
"She's basically saying look, we're just stating facts. Like live with it. Move on."
While translating Pegula's nickname, Brady teasingly shared:
"Yeah. Oh, Dafu large. Large woman."
Apart from Pegula, many players have received their nicknames, including the World No. 1, Carlos Alcaraz, who is known as 'Duck,' while the Swiss legend Roger Federer is called 'Cow' due to his personality. The Serbian legend, Novak Djokovic, is lovingly known as 'Chicken,' and Sabalenka is known as 'China’s Daughter,' 'Tiger Girl,' and 'Fried Rice Queen.'
Jessica Pegula reflects on her strategic mindset in her match against Aryna Sabalenka
The winner of nine WTA singles and seven doubles titles, Jessica Pegula, expressed her thoughts on her mindset and strategy while facing Sabalenka in the semifinal round at the Wuhan Open.
"I was able to raise my level in times when I really needed it. It was tight closing it out, but I just hung in there and kept giving myself chances, and I think did a great job of adapting my strategy," she shared, via WTA Tennis' official site.
Before Wuhan, Jessica Pegula competed in the China Open, concluding her tournament journey with a semifinal loss to Linda Noskova. She will now look forward to winning a title in Wuhan.
