Jessica Pegula's run-up to the Roland Garros was thwarted not by an opponent on the court, but by an unexpected foe on her dinner plate.
The 29-year-old American cruised through the first two rounds of the competition, also thanks to her colleague from the WTA Tour, Camila Giorgi, retiring in their second-round match at the 2023 Roland Garros.
But things didn't go always so well for Pegula this year, especially during the preparations for the clay-court Grand Slam. The highest-ranked American, who also shared her thoughts on the disparity of night matches, spoke in a column for BBC about how her preparations were ruined by food poisoning.
"Coming into this week's French Open, my preparations were completely thrown by getting food poisoning on my first night and first dinner in Paris. What horrendous luck - I haven't gone out to a restaurant since because I've been too afraid to eat there."
Despite a shared serving of escargots among her group, Pegula became the lone casualty to a bout of food poisoning. Her love for the classic French delicacy would be severely tested, coupled with the suspicion of a potentially ill-prepared salmon dish.
"I don't know exactly what did the damage. I had escargots - I love escargots - but everyone else in my group had them. I also had salmon so maybe it was a bad piece of fish. I was throwing up for the whole night and I couldn't sleep much."
The effects were immediate and severe. Pegula spent the subsequent night in agony, a victim of relentless vomiting and a drastic lack of sleep. The physical aftermath of this ordeal, however, was more damaging than the initial onset. A missed practice session was just the tip of the iceberg. Her attempts to return to the court two days post-incident were less than successful.
"That was after I arrived in Paris on Tuesday, I didn't practise on Wednesday, I practised on Thursday - but it was not pretty. I could barely do anything."
The constant nausea, the recurring acid reflux, and a dwindling appetite created an uphill battle for Pegula. Not only was she unable to eat, she was also gripped by the fear of eating.
"I was getting a lot of nausea and acid reflux, I wasn't eating. I was afraid to eat anything. I didn't have an appetite. It lingered for four or five days but I wasn't able to just sit in bed, I had a bunch of stuff to do."
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