“Jessica Pegula just doesn't have that one big weapon” – Martina Navratilova lists reasons why fellow American has failed to win a Grand Slam trophy
Martina Navratilova recently listed out the reasons fellow American Jessica Pegula had not been able to win a Grand Slam trophy yet.
Pegula began playing tennis professionally in the year 2009 but didn't make an appearance in the main draw of a Grand Slam tournament until her debut at the US Open in 2015. She bowed out of the event from the second round itself.
She returned to Flushing Meadows the following year for her second attempt at the Majors but failed to match her previous performance as she crashed out in the first round.
Subsequently, the 30-year-old couldn't compete in the Majors for the next couple of seasons. She made her French Open main draw debut in 2019 but failed to impress once again and lost in her opener.
Since then, she has participated in every Grand Slam event but has managed only six quarterfinal finishes at best. Interestingly, Pegula has consistently stayed in the top 10 per WTA's official singles rankings since the first week of June 2022.
Even though the World No. 5 has proved her on-court prowess by bagging two WTA 1000 titles namely the Guadalajara Open 2022 and Canadian Open 2023, the Grand Slam trophies remain elusive.
Martina Navratilova, who holds 18 Grand Slam singles titles in her trophy cabinet, weighed in on Jessica Pegula's misery at the Majors. She stated that Pegula was a decent all-court player but failed to develop anything exceptional in her game.
"She's really good at every aspect of the game but she's not great in one aspect of the game. She just doesn't have that one big weapon," Navratilova told Tennis Channel on the sidelines of Indian Wells.
"If I were Jessica Pegula, I would work on my serve more than anything and then just develop a bigger forehand" - Martina Navratilova
Martina Navratilova further suggested that Jessica Pegula relies on her opponent playing poorly in high-profile encounters.
"I feel like she needs help from other players because it's just too hard to beat the top players back-to-back without having a bigger weapon," Navratilova said.
The 67-year-old then advised Pegula to hone her serving skills and strengthen her forehand to achieve better results.
"I think if I were her [Jessica Pegula], I would work on my serve more than anything and then just develop a bigger forehand," she added.
Pegula recently dropped out of contention at the Indian Wells 2024 after she and her compatriot Coco Gauff lost their doubles quarterfinal match against the pair of Ena Shibahara and Asia Muhammad on Tuesday, March 12. In singles, she fell to Anna Blinkova in her opener on Saturday.