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Jessica Pegula recently shared a hilarious incident involving a hotel staff member in China. She said they had a forced conversation for five minutes, despite not understanding each other's languages.
Pegula was in the Asian country to represent the USA at the 2025 Billie Jean King Cup. They defeated Elena Rybakina's Kazakhstan 2-1 in the quarterfinals and Great Britain 2-0 in the semifinals.
However, Jasmine Paolini's Italy stopped Team USA from extending its record to 19 titles, beating them 2-0. Emma Navarro and Pegula lost their singles matches to lower-ranked Elisabetta Cocciaretto and Paolini, respectively, in straight sets.
Jessica Pegula, Madison Keys, Jennifer Brady, and Desirae Krawczyk dropped another episode of 'The Player's Box' podcast this week. They introduced a new segment called 'Unforced Errors,' in which all four had to share a recent blunder from their lives.
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Pegula was the first to go. The 31-year-old said she didn't know how exactly to use the 'Do Not Disturb' feature in her hotel room.
"I'm in China right now for the Billie Jean King Cup. And I've been playing this game with the 'Do Not Disturb' on whether I know if it's working or not. I don't know how to explain it, but the button doesn't light up, right? So then I thought I had it on. It said it was on, but then the cleaning lady came in while I was in the shower. I was like, 'Oh my god,'" she said (2:55).
Pegula and the cleaner could not reach a conclusion as they spoke and understood different languages. She added:
"Obviously, she doesn't speak English. And she didn't understand that I didn't want any cleaning at this moment. Then we just sat there and kind of miscommunicated for five minutes, and I was like, 'No,' pointing to the sign, and it was lit up. [She] still didn't get it. And then she gave me two waters. I feel like that's happened to everybody, but that was kind of my unforced error for the week."
In the quarterfinals against Kazakhstan, Rybakina beat Pegula 6-4, 6-1, though the American overcame a first-set deficit to down Great Britain's Katie Boulter in the semifinals.
"Happy to have reached the final" - Jessica Pegula reflects on Billie Jean King Cup loss to Italy
Jessica Pegula failed to win against Jasmine Paolini and force a decider in the 2025 Billie Jean King Cup finals, as Italy defended its crown.
At the post-match press conference, Pegula praised Paolini for raising her level while claiming that Team USA was happy to reach the finals.
"Today wasn't our day. But we still have to be happy to have reached the final. The 4-4 game in the first set tipped the match in Jasmine's favor, and she then played great tennis in the second set as well. I felt almost in control at the start, but then things didn't go the way I hoped," Pegula said (via Yardbarker).
Jessica Pegula, who lost to Aryna Sabalenka in the 2025 US Open semifinals, will next compete at the WTA 1000 China Open in Beijing, beginning September 24.
