'Healthy To Have Other Courts Off Court': Pegula On Dedicating Time To Business

Sunday, 07 January 2024 at 02:15

byZachary Wimer

Jessica Pegula is a very dedicated tennis player, but she also has other interests off the court that she deems important.

Having a passion for something is hugely important, especially if that is your job, but your life can't revolve around it all the time. Having other interests that allow you to take a break from that main pursuit is healthy, and it's what Jessica Pegula has always had.

Coming from a business family opened her up to that, and she became quite interested in it over the years. It allowed her to look at the bigger picture in most things, tennis or otherwise.

Speaking about life outside of tennis ahead of the 2024 Adelaide International, Pegula opened up about what she pursues away from the tennis courts.

I think you go back and forth dealing with those questions throughout your career. Yeah, I started focusing on other things and I was hurt a lot because that's the reality that you have to face, and I thought it would be a healthy thing for me to do, and I still think it's healthy to have other things off the court that you're interested in.

— Pegula on pursuing business<br>

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Tennis for now is still Pegula's main priority, and that likely will never change. Sure, she'll retire sometime in the future, but it's been such a huge part of her life that it's never really going to change. Certainly not as long as she's playing.

But at the same time, tennis has been my whole life. It's been ever since I was six, seven years old, it's been my goal to be professional, to be No. 1, to win Grand Slams, and that never really went away. So I would say it's a back and forth; yes, it's everything, but at the same time, you kind of have to have that right healthy perspective, I think, in order to keep improving and keep playing.

This part of the season has been generally quite good for her and she made a decent start at the United Cup. Now it's about backing it up at the bigger events such as the Australian Open.