Jessica Pegula has been a consistent performer for a long time, but she still got overwhelmed by emotions after winning the 2024 Canadian Open in Toronto.
Pegula has been one of the most consistent players on the WTA Tour for a few years now, but the American hasn't got too many trophies to show for it. Being consistent is very good for the rankings, as she's been in the Top 10 for a couple of years now, never coming close to falling out of the Top 10.
Still, it doesn't guarantee many trophies because being consistent means also making the second week of Grand Slams, but it doesn't need to translate into trophies. A consistent player can make semi-finals regularly, but it doesn't mean they will win trophies.
In some ways, it seems like it's better to be streaky in tennis, even though rankings may not reward that. When it comes to Pegula, she's rarely been able to win trophies.
At 30, Pegula has only six titles to her name, which is a bit of a low number considering that she's been number 3 in the world, among other things.
She's been performing well for a while, but trophies are rare for her, so it doesn't come as a huge surprise that she was overwhelmed by winning the Canadian Open again. Pegula also won the tournament last year, but it's an important tournament, so winning it again obviously means a lot to her.
"I can't believe it, I wanted it so bad, so I am getting emotional thinking about it. No, I am so happy to take the title here, it's awesome. I am just like flooded with emotions. It's been an up and down year, but these are like happy tears, I am so happy."
Another underreported aspect is the geographical aspect. The Canadian Open was played in Montreal last year and in Toronto this year, which is close to where she grew up. She's from Buffalo, located on the border between the United States and Canada.
It's just south of Toronto, where this year's final was played. It's about as close of an event as she can get to her home, and that kind of played a part in it as well.
Toronto reminds her of Buffalo, so it just added to the whole experience. She mentioned that during her post-match speech, she also noted a few important people for her who were in attendance.
"Yeah, to win it close to my home, Buffalo (New York), to be able to win Montreal and Toronto is really cool. My grandparents are here, my husband came in with some friends so it is really cool."
"Feels kind of like my home town tournament a little bit, but I am glad that I have a title in both cities, so, like, it's grateful."
After winning in Montreal and Toronto, Pegula became one of the players to win both iterations of the Canadian Open. That's a remarkable achievement because these two are some of the biggest trophies she has won so far.
Her only other WTA 1000 trophy came in Guadalajara, but that event is not as longstanding or as prestigious as these two.
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