"This is so cute" - Jessica Pegula delighted by 15-year-old hitting partner's candid interview at Charleston Open
Jessica Pegula recently reacted to a recent interview of her 15-year-old hitting partner Addison Roach during the ongoing Charleston Open.
In the interview, Roach, a high-school freshman from the town of Mt. Pleasant in South Carolina's Charleston County, talked about how he became the WTA World No. 5's hitting partner. The 15-year-old also reflected on his rollercoaster of emotions as he hit with Pegula.
The 30-year-old jokingly said that Roach had been getting harrassed by his friends who attended the pair's practice sessions.
"Yeah, a lot of his friends, harrassing him a little bit during the points. He ended up getting one game finally. Actually, he broke me at the end there," Pegula told ABC News 4 (0:16).
Roach himself said that he got the opportunity to hit with Pegula after contact from the Charleston Open's hitting partner manager.
"Hitting partner, like, manager came up to me and asked me if I wanted to hit with Pegula on (Credit One) Stadium, and then, yeah, we just went from there," Roach said (0:38).
Roach also went on to say how hitting with the WTA World No. 5 was 'cool' but also came with a fair bit of anxiety.
"It's really cool. It's probably one of the coolest things I've ever done. Lot of nerves walking out on to that stadium because Ons (Jabeur) was coming off and everybody was cheering super loud. I immediately started sweating," the 15-year-old added (0:55).
After the interview came out, Pegula herself reacted to it on social media.
"This is so cute. Haha," Pegula wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
"Spent a lot of time talking to women in Saudi Arabia" - Jessica Pegula
Saudi Arabia's Public Investmend Fund (PIF) has reportedly come up with a limited-period $2 billion offer, which, if accepted, would merge the ATP and WTA Tours. The PIF is also known to be interested in sealing a deal that would see Saudi Arabia's Riyadh becoming the new home of the WTA Finals.
While Saudi Arabia's tennis ambitions have been criticized by stalwarts such as Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova, Jessica Pegula is among those who seems open to them. In a recent interview, the World No. 5 said that she spoke to several women in Saudi Arabia to know if conditions are changing for women's sports in the country.
"We’ve definitely spent a lot of time talking to women in Saudi Arabia. We have [No. 6–ranked Tunisian player] Ons Jabeur, who is also from the Middle East and a couple other girls," Jessica Pegula told Front Office Sports.
"We’ve really taken the time to speak to them, and try to understand that and be like, 'Are we making the right decision? Are we going to be helping women and women’s sports in those countries?' And so far the feedback we’ve gotten has been, 'Yes, it’s changing,'" she added.
Jessica Pegula is currently the top seed at the Charleston Open and booked her place in the third round with a 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(3) win over compatriot Amanda Anisimova. She will next take on Magda Linette for a place in the quarterfinals of the WTA 500 event.