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Jessica Pegula spoke about her relationship with former World No. 1-turned-USA Billie Jean King Cup captain Lindsay Davenport this week. The American believes that the three-time Major winner's "super direct" nature is really helpful as it allows plenty of room for improvement.
Pegula, currently ranked 7th in the world, was instrumental in USA reaching their first BJK Cup title match since 2018 this week in Shenzhen. The American team, which also consisted of Emma Navarro, McCartney Kessler, Taylor Townsend, and Hailey Baptiste, downed Great Britain and Kazakhstan en route to the final before losing to defending champions Italy.
Although the loss will be hard to bear for the 18-time BJK Cup (formerly Fed Cup) champions, Jessica Pegula believes there was a lot to cherish from their campaign - particularly Lindsay Davenport's captaincy. The 31-year-old admittedly has a good relationship with her captain, so much so that she laughs even when the latter is critiquing her game.
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"I like playing for Lindsay [Davenport] because she is so funny but so direct. It’s so funny because she will just be very straightforward, and you just start laughing," Jessica Pegula said this week (via the Tennis Gazette). "Even yesterday, she was just very matter-of-fact. 'You are not doing this, you need to change this.' It’s so funny and so matter-of-fact."
The World No. 7 added that Davenport's actual demeanor is very warm despite her directness.
"But she is so nice, it’s just the way that she delivers it makes it really funny. I would rather someone be super direct rather than be like I’m not really sure," she said. "I think as a captain, I feel like that is really important for the rest of the team."
Jessica Pegula fails to guide USA to its first BJK Cup title since 2017
Jessica Pegula went 1-2 in her singles matches for the USA Billie Jean King Cup team this week. In her team's quarterfinal bout against Kazakhstan, she lost in straight sets to Elena Rybakina before pulling double duty with Taylor Townsend to notch the tie 2-1.
The nine-time WTA singles titlist then helped USA sweep Great Britain 2-0 by virtue of her hard-fought three-set win over Katie Boulter. Unfortunately, she couldn't win her first-ever BJK Cup title, falling to Jasmine Paolini in straight sets after her compatriot Emma Navarro was upset by Elisabetta Cociaretto earlier in the day.
Pegula will next play at the China Open, where she is seeded fifth. Having received a first-round Bye at the WTA 1000 tournament, the 31-year-old hasn't gone past the fourth round in her three career appearances in Beijing (2019, 2023-24).
