Transcript: Jessica Pegula def. Sofia Kenin, 6-3, 7-5

Jessica Pegula def. Sofia Kenin, 6-3, 7-5

Final

MODERATOR: Jess, congratulations. Can you share your thoughts on your week here and your win today?

JESSICA PEGULA: Yeah. I mean, tough match today. Glad I was able to finish it off in straight sets than having to go to three. Again, really tough conditions with the wind and everything. So, I mean, it was a little streaky, I feel like, from both of us at times, but that’s how it’s going to be when it’s tough conditions and you’re in a final and there’s a lot of nerves and stuff like that. So happy to come away with the trophy and the title.

Jessica, seemed like you were on the brink a few times this week. Are you particularly proud of the way you stuck in there and fought through those spots?

JESSICA PEGULA: Yeah. Definitely. I think my perseverance won me a lot of matches this week. I think, especially on the clay, I feel like you have to have kind of that grittiness and that toughness, because the serve isn’t as effective. There’s not as many free points, and I think winning a couple of tough points or a tough game can kind of turn the momentum of a set or a match, and I felt like I was able to do that multiple times this week. It doesn’t always happen every single week, but when you’re able to do it and take home the title, I think you look back in those moments. Pivotal moments are really important in the match. So happy with what I was able to do this week and turning around matches and sets, and yeah.

At 5-1 I guess you had an exchange with your coach. What was that?

JESSICA PEGULA: I actually just said I think I hit a wall. I just got really tired because I think I was like realizing I was going to go to a third; and I was kind of like, oh, I don’t know if I can do this again. Like I’ve done this the last couple matches. Even in Miami, playing a couple tough three sets. And I think it’s just more emotionally draining than anything, but I think at the same time sometimes I’ve done it before in the past where once you kind of like accept that you’re not trying to fake on it or force it, you’re like, okay, I’m tired. How do I figure this out? And I think sometimes when you can kind of relax, take a breath and refocus, that sometimes that can help, and I think it actually did help me today. I think I was able to play some tough games there and then pick up my level to end the second, and I think I just, again, got the momentum back in order to win it in straights.

Jess, you have bigger wins than this, but what does this one mean to you as far as the history of this tournament and your history in the Low Country?

JESSICA PEGULA: Yeah. I mean, it’s my first clay court title, which is really cool. To win it here in Charleston, super special. Have a lot of history here, history in the Low Country, history in Charleston. So, I mean, that’s really special. I had a lot of people from Hilton Head come and watch me from my old academy, my old coach, old friends, my aunt and uncle, my grandparents that weren’t too far away. So I think all of that is just super, super special. And when I look back, to have them here with me in that moment is really, really cool. So of all the years to win it, I think this year was perfect and fitting, and I matched the trophy with my outfit. So can’t say much more than that.

Can you tell us briefly about your history here in South Carolina and training here?

JESSICA PEGULA: Yeah. Yeah, yeah. So I moved to Hilton Head, I think I was like seven or eight years old, from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Billy Stearns came up to Pittsburgh for like, I don’t know, some sort of academy thing, and he thought I was really good and had a lot of potential. So we started kind of traveling down to Hilton Head. My parents would take me, and then we eventually moved, which was obviously a big sacrifice for my family to move down south. We’re obviously an up north people, up north family. So came down and trained there for like seven, eight, nine, ten, 11, 12. So like five years or so. And it’s honestly really where I learned like how to play and my technical aspects of my game, and in Hilton Head is kind of where I always feel like I grew up a little bit, you know, being that kind of age and growing up in that time and learning my strokes and learning how to play. And that was really the Smith Stearns Tennis Academy. I’ve given them a lot of shot outs this week, but Billy Stearns was really where I learned my strokes and how I learned how to play. And we moved to Florida from there, but I have a lot of connections to that academy. We housed a lot of girls and guys in that academy that went on to be really good college players, went on to be coaches, are still working there. So it’s really special that they can come and watch me play, and they’re like, I can’t believe, you know, you were this little tiny 10-year-old playing in Hilton Head, South Carolina, and now you’re winning the tournament. And obviously they used to host the tournament way back when. So when I would train there, they still have the hold — they did have the old Family Circle Cup Stadium, and all the courts would be named after past players and stuff like that. So I do have a lot of history here, and then in my early 20s trained here on and off for a couple years in my early 20s on Daniel Island with Michael Joyce. So definitely have a lot of ties here, and it’s kind of where I feel like I always learned how to play tennis, so it’s really cool to come back and win this title.

And then today they announced that this tournament will double prize money next year to match the ATP 500 level. Just wanted to get your reaction and what it’ll mean for the tournament.

JESSICA PEGULA: I was like, not this year? Not the year I won it? Come on. No, I’m just kidding. I think that’s amazing. I mean, what Ben Navarro and the Navarro family has done for tennis in the U.S. and women’s tennis especially with doing that is really incredible, and I think he’s been inspired by seeing how well Emma has done and how much women’s tennis can really, really grow and her being a superstar in her own right. I’m sure she’s going to probably win this title at some point, and that’ll be really cool. But I think her story has probably really inspired him to grow the sport, and I think that’s amazing, having a daughter that is as successful as she is it’s cool to see him support that sport. And sometimes that’s all it takes, and I think that’s amazing. There’s a big discrepancy sometimes in the 500s and the 250s from the ATP to the WTA. Sometimes people don’t realize that because they know — the normal fan knows that Grand Slams are equal prize money, but they don’t know about all the other events, that there’s a big discrepancy. Sotobeabletokindofsetthetoneandbe probably the first person, I think, to do that. Yeah, first 500, right? It’s huge. And I think when you’re setting that tone, that sets a trend for other tournaments to do the same. So that’s really, really cool.

Just thinking about your summer last summer, culminating with the US Open final and the way things are going this year. Are these two years in your career would you say the best years of your career and are you having the most fun you’ve had in your career?

JESSICA PEGULA: I don’t know. I mean, I feel like for the last two, three, four, I mean, I don’t know how long I’ve been Top 10, but it seems like a long time now, and the last couple years I’ve been able to make some big jumps as far as big tournaments, maybe winning more tournaments, making finals of a Grand Slam. That’s always big. But it’s so funny. Tennis is such a long year, and last year I was missing clay court season, missing the French, injured, and I was like, oh, this is probably going to be my worst year. Like it was kind of weird feeling that I wasn’t able to play as much as I usually have, missing a Grand Slam for the first time in a long time. And I felt kind of down about that, but was able to come back and turn that year around into one of the best years I’ve had. And it’s funny how tennis can change so much week to week, whether — how well you’re doing, and there’s always another chance to win a tournament, which is what’s so great about it. It’s so hard, but at the same time what’s great about it. Yeah, I don’t know. I think this year I feel so much better than I did last year, to be honest. At the beginning this time last year I think like everything just kind of caught up to me of how much I was playing. I was playing a lot of matches over the previous couple years, and I was just burnt out. So I’m just really happy that this year I feel so much fresher, so much better, and I think the results are kind of showing this early in the year how much better I feel, and I’m having a lot more fun competing. And just feel like I’m enjoying the challenge of competing and the challenge of problem solving every single match, and I think that’s why this year I was able to problem solve a lot of matches compared to maybe this time last year. But, I mean, every year has its ups and downs, and it’s all part of it.

I was just wondering in a situation like today, you’re down 5-1 in the second. Is it tempting to think I’ll just go onto the third and save my energy for that or do you just try to avoid that mindset at all costs?

JESSICA PEGULA: I mean, I just really wanted to hold at 5-1, because I was like I need to get some sort of momentum going for the third. That’s really what I was telling myself. And I didn’t want to go into the third losing three, four, five games in a row. I kind of wanted to stop the bleeding a little bit before I got to the third, and sometimes when you do that, it obviously can turn out the way like it did today where you can get the set back. But that’s kind of really all I was thinking is trying to play just a little bit more aggressive and just put a little bit of pressure on her, you know, to kind of close out that set, and luckily I was able to do that and it worked today. But to be honest, that’s really kind of all I was thinking was just try to gain some momentum back for the third set.

Tennis, of course, can be so cruel, too. And she was obviously emotional after —

JESSICA PEGULA: Yeah.

…letting that 5-1 slip away. Do you feel for her?

JESSICA PEGULA: Yeah, of course. I mean, every week is so tough. Like it’s not easy out here at all. Every girl is fighting and competing, and everyone’s on kind of their own journey and their own pathway, and you never really know what you’re facing across the other side of the net. So, of course, I felt bad for her. I mean, I think, though, at the end of the day, she’s played some really good tennis this week. She’s beaten a lot of really good players, and obviously she’s a Grand Slam champion. So everyone knows that she can play at that top level, and I think this week she showed that she can maybe get some of that consistency back in her game. And I think as far as going into the clay court season, she’s gotta feel pretty good that she’s kind of got some of that momentum back and knows that she can beat those top players when she can and when she’s playing a good game. I think that’s kind of what she’s gotta focus on. It’s tough in the moment. It’s never fun to lose, but I’m sure she can switch her perspective and feel good about going into the rest of the clay court season.

End of Interview