Jessica Pegula admits 'stressful' anti-doping process makes her paranoid
NewsFriday, 17 October 2025 at 22:11
Tennis was rocked in 2024 by two of its most high-profile stars testing positive for banned substances, and Jessica Pegula takes all possible steps to avoid a similar fate.
A few days before the 2024 US Open, Jannik Sinner's testing positive for clostebol at that year's Indian Wells Open was revealed. The International Tennis Integrity Agency's (ITIA) investigation into it had been kept private.
Despite initially being cleared by the ITIA, Sinner served a three-month suspension earlier this season in a case settlement with the World Anti-Doping Agency, which unexpectedly appealed the case.
In November 2024, Iga Swiatek received a one-month ban for testing for trimetazidine. Her case had also been kept private while the investigation into how the doping breach occurred took place.
Swiatek tested positive after the melatonin tablets she purchased were contaminated without her knowledge. Many thought the Pole was unlucky to serve any ban since several players use melatonin, and she could not have expected the tablets to be contaminated.
Sinner and Swiatek could have received much lengthier suspensions had they not been able to show that contamination occurred in their cases. That possibility is a significant fear for ATP and WTA players.
Pegula spoke about the subject on the latest episode of the Players Box Podcast, which features her, 2025 Australian Open winner Madison Keys, Jennifer Brady, and Desirae Krawczyk discussing various topics each week.
The 2024 US Open runner-up explained why the doping process is stressful, and admits she feels somewhat worried every time she receives a text or e-mail from those running the anti-doping protocols.
"Anything I'm taking, I'm like super diligent about that. I'm like, 'advil, tylenol.' Like, I list everything, because you see all these stories, and I get super paranoid. It's so stressful, and they don't send you a notification to say you're clean."
"You would only get notified, I assume, if you failed. So, it's stressful when they send you the text or the e-mail saying 'you have a new message in your mailbox. I'm like, 'oh my god, I failed.' It's terrible, it's so stressful."
While rigorous measures being taken to keep the sport clean are positive, other players have spoken about the authorities not being considerate enough of their circumstances and causing unnecessary stress. It is a balancing act.
The Players Box Podcast has swiftly become popular
Despite being launched less than two months ago, the Players Box Podcast is already loved by many, receiving very positive reviews. On Apple Podcasts, it is rated an astounding 4.9/5 from 392 reviews.
Pegula has shared amusing anecdotes on previous episodes. For example, she described a cleaning lady in Beijing walking in while she was showering, and not understanding that Pegula wanted her to leave because of the language barrier.
Another case was Pegula having to pay a hefty sum for a train from Beijing to Wuhan after accidentally booking one that would take much longer. The 2023 WTA Finals runner-up felt she was being trolled in a message by customer service that commented on the price she paid.
Popular News
Just In
Loading