Jessica Pegula spoke of the secret ingredient to her excellent fitness record since she rose to prominence and why she doesn't travel with a full-time physio while on tour.
The American has been one of the most consistent and durable tennis players on the women's tour since winning her first WTA title in Washington in 2019 and rocketing up the rankings. But not many fans are particularly fond of Pegula's early phase of her career which was sabotaged by career-threatening injuries.
Pegula doubted if she'd ever come back after learning that she would need surgery to repair a damaged hip nearly a decade ago. But speaking to the media ahead of the WTA Finals, she believes that she figured out the recipe for a healthier body and what she needed to maintain herself fit for the season.
At the same time, she asserts that it "balances itself out" in relation to her current excellent spell of good health. Since her first full season on the WTA Tour four years ago, Pegula has not retired from a match. She is glad she was finally able to "figure out" the antidote to her injuries and realize her potential.
"I know there's a lot of injuries now. I did deal with a lot of injuries in my early 20s. At the same time, I feel like it balances itself out. There were a lot of years where I felt like I didn't really ever play a full season. I know some girls experience that now. I think all of us at some point usually go through a really tough injury or a tough couple of injuries, tough years."
"I don't know. I mean, I know everyone thinks I'm durable now. It's only been a couple of years. There's very many years early on in my career where I was not injury-free. Maybe it's kind of balancing itself out, which is, I don't know, good I guess. I'm glad I figured it out before it was too late (laughter)."
Amid arguments about the current state of tennis balls having a detrimental effect on players' bodies, quite a number of top players have made their voices heard. Cases of tennis players picking injuries related to heavy tennis balls are becoming rampant.
In light of that, the need for a physio has never been more important than now. It is uncommon for a Top 10 or even Top 20 player to travel without a full-time physio, but Pegula doesn't do it, believing in a more concise and smart approach to preparation and recovery.
"No (about traveling with full-time physio). It's amazing how I've been able to overcome that (injuries), I guess figure things out. Of course, I always wanted to be, but I think I'm just a lot smarter in my approach to my preparation and my recovery."
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