At the end of the final grand slam tournament of her breakthrough 2022 season, Jessica Pegula found herself in a familiar, painful position. She had reached the quarter-finals at three of the four majors that year, but on each occasion she was defeated by the top seed. After another loss to Iga Swiatek at the US Open, Pegula arrived at her press conference sipping a can of beer. “I’m trying to pee for doping,” she said. “Although it does help ease the loss.”
That moment, which immediately went viral, was a perfect example of the good natured way that Pegula has handled one of the most frustrating struggles of her career – an inability to reach a grand slam semi-final. It would take two more years and a total of six painful quarter-final defeats before she achieved her goal. Finally, in a perfect full circle moment, Pegula reached her first career grand slam semi-final at the US Open by toppling Swiatek, the world No 1, 6-2, 6-4.