We haven't seen Jessica Pegula on the tennis court for a while, and some started to speculate about her pregnancy, which she denied.
The American played only six matches this year, with her last event being the Australian Open. It wasn't a very good tournament for her as she was easily beaten in the second round by Clara Burel; however, that didn't really shake her up in any meaningful way.
She didn't rush back to the tennis courts. She's not playing the Middle East this year, which generally has been the case in years past. However, this time, an injury stopped Pegula from competing in Doha and Dubai.
Fans haven't really heard much from her in the past weeks, so there were some speculations about other reasons than an injury keeping her away from the tennis courts.
Some of the wilder theories suggested that she might be pregnant and would announce a break from tennis any minute. She's been married for a while and is 29, so people incorrectly assumed that that's what happened.
Pregnancy news from Petra Kvitova, and also Belinda Bencic certainly fuelled these theories, but Pegula confirmed that it's far from the truth.
The American posted a story on Instagram that showed her on a tennis court again, which obviously signals that she's getting back to the grind after weeks of resting up.
The caption of the story playfully said "Not pregnant." It's an obvious joke in response to some of the speculations that have been making the rounds on social media.
It's going to be good to have Pegula back on the tennis courts, especially a well-rested Pegula who clearly needed to take some time away from the sport.
She's generally played well Down Under, so crashing out that way was very surprising. Her next tournament is the Indian Wells Open. It's not too far away, as the tournament begins on March 15th and runs for a fortnight.