Jessica Pegula pulls out of WTA Eastbourne International

Jessica Pegula's progress in the last 12 months has been very impressive, but the fans at the Eastbourne International will not get to see her in action this year.

The American demonstrated her improvements during the clay-court season. She reached the final of the WTA 1000-level tournament in Madrid before finishing as the runner-up to Ons Jabeur after a three-set battle.

Pegula also had a solid run at the French Open. She battled through some tough matches to progress to the quarterfinal. Unfortunately, the 28-year-old ran into the world No. 1 Iga Swiatek at that stage, who went on to win the title in Paris by beating Coco Gauff in the final.

Grass has been Pegula's weakest surface to date. She only managed one main draw victory in her two previous Wimbledon appearances and has yet to get to a final on the surface.

Some tennis fans may have thought Pegula's history on grass would lead to her playing at least one pre-Wimbledon warm-up event since she may need some time and practice to find a good level on the surface.

However, it seems like the Madrid Open runner-up is taking the opposite approach. Pegula was set to play at the WTA 500 event in Eastbourne, but it has now been confirmed that she will not be playing at the tournament.

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It's unclear whether Pegula's withdrawal is due to any physical issue. The 2019 Washington Open champion did play a long clay-court season and won plenty of matches. Needing some additional rest after those efforts would be understandable. 

Pegula played in Eastbourne in 2019 but lost to Maria Sakkari in the first round. She is not currently scheduled to play any other tournaments before Wimbeldon begins. It will be interesting to observe whether Pegula decides to play at SW19 without any match practice on grass.

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