Jessica Pegula enjoyed an impressive 2022 season, but Martina Navratilova has identified an area that makes winning significant tournaments more challenging for the American.
Despite being almost unknown by her mid-twenties in 2019, Pegula has become one of the best players in the women's game. She made progress in 2020, but 2022 was a breakthrough year.
Pegula and world No. 1 Iga Swiatek were the only WTA players to reach three Grand Slam quarterfinals in 2022. The 28-year-old had only previously made it to one major quarterfinal before the start of the 2022 season.
Unfortunately for Pegula, she faced the eventual winner in every quarterfinal: Ashleigh Barty at the Australian Open and Swiatek at the French and US Opens. Pegula memorably drank a beer at the press conference after her US Open loss.
The American won a maiden WTA 1000 title this season at the Guadalajara Open, overcoming Maria Sakkari in the final. Pegula was also the runner-up to Wimbledon and US Open runner-up Ons Jabeur at the Madrid Open.
Those achievements led to Pegula reaching No. 3 in the world. That is even more impressive considering how hard the four-time Grand Slam quarterfinalist has to work to win points during her matches.
Tennis legend Navratilova recently spoke about that. She feels Pegula needs to find a more potent weapon to win points more efficiently and take the next step and challenge for Grand Slams.
"She needs to find a bigger weapon. Maybe the serve, work on that. She has to work so hard to win those points."Oftentimes, it takes her longer to hold serve than her opponent. And it’s cumulative, right? It might not bother you in this match, but it might in the next."
"Overall, just winning points easier saves energy in the long term. I would concentrate on more variety on the second serve and a little more power on the first serve. That’s where she could make the greatest improvement."