Jessica Pegula was supposed to start her European clay season at the 2024 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, but decided against it and now explained why.
It's been a pretty interesting season for the American so far, as she hasn't played on the level we've gotten used to from her in recent years. She's also not played as much tennis as before, skipping over some events, which generally hasn't been the case.
She's already 30 years old now and probably more selective with her schedule, but her points total is slowly diminishing because of that. She's still ranked fifth in the world, but she's lost more than 1000 points since the season began, and that's not ideal.
Her first European clay event was supposed to be the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, but she won't play there because she pulled a few days before the event. It was surprising as she still played at the Billie Jean King Cup, but after her participation at the event, she explained her reasons, admitting that several factors contributed to her withdrawal.
"Yeah, I pulled out of Stuttgart a couple days ago just because the turnaround is just too tough. I was thinking I could maybe go and play, but the flight situation wasn't great getting there. I'd have to leave tonight. I just didn't really feel like it was worth it. Plus it kind of extends my trip into Europe a week to 10 days earlier."
Pegula's withdrawal is also partly because she wants to really prepare for the big events. The WTA 500 event in Stuttgart is a tournament with a strong draw; however, it's not a WTA 1000 tournament or a Grand Slam. Practicing on clay seemed like a better idea for Pegula than rushing to Stuttgart.
"I just wanted to get a really good kind of week at home on the clay, back to clay, to prep for Madrid, Rome and French."