“It’s So Tough” – Jessica Pegula Gets Candid on Tennis’ Relentless Grind and the Mental Battle to Stay Present

“Of all the different sports I’ve worked in, and there have been many over the years, tennis is perhaps the most emotionally challenging of sports.” This stark assessment from renowned sports psychologist Katie Mobed, the Performance Psychologist & Culture Coach, underscores a reality often hidden beneath the surface of elite tennis. Mobed points to the weeks spent away from home as a form of “mental torture,” where winning ironically prolongs the separation. It’s a sentiment many players have voiced, and recently, American star Jessica Pegula, fresh off securing her place in the 2025 Miami Open final, shed further light on the demanding aspects of the professional game.

Last year, when Jessica Pegula won the Canadian Open, she shared her thoughts on how difficult it is to make the switch from Olympic clay to Canadian hard courts. “It was definitely a tough week, mentally, so to be able to come back the next week and just focus on competing in a way almost helped me. I didn’t have time to think about how I was really feeling, or it’s not like I had this massive prep where I was going into this week expecting to do well.” However, this time she shed light on the doing the “same thing” at every tournament, every year. 

Jessica Pegula’s road to the Miami Open final has been a grueling one, marked by three hard-fought three-set victories against Alexandra Eala, Emma Raducanu, and Anna Kalinskaya. Now, she faces arguably her biggest challenge of the tournament: a final showdown against World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka. Leading up to her significant match, Jessica Pegula offered her thoughts on the often-understated difficulty of winning consistently and making deep runs in tennis events.

“Yeah, I mean, it’s so tough. I’m exhausted, and I didn’t win the tournament yet. It will come around, and next week I will be in Charleston trying to do the same thing and it’s forgotten. Same thing. I feel like I was just here a couple of weeks ago. We’re already back in Miami, and next year it will be the same thing, and then you’re freaking out because you’re defending points, and then you have to worry about that,” Pegula revealed in her post-match interview.

Interesting Fact: This clash will mark the first Miami Open final between Top 5 players since Serena Williams defeated Li Na in 2014. The winner will become the first player ranked inside the Top 10 to capture a WTA 1000 title or higher this season.

She further went on to add, “Tennis is so tough on the mental side, having to deal with that, because the wins are amazing, but there is always another week and sometimes it can get forgotten, which can be tough. I’m trying to work on enjoying the good weeks and the good wins and trying to stay in that present moment as much as possible, because I think when I look back, those are the good moments I’m going to remember.“

Adding to the pressure, Sabalenka has defeated Pegula in straight sets in their last two final encounters at the US Open and Cincinnati Open. The burning question is whether Pegula can reverse this trend and finally triumph over her formidable rival. Here’s what both players had to say after securing their spots in the 2025 Miami Open final.

Aryna Sabalenka stresses the importance of “mental toughness” ahead of clash against Jessica Pegula

The three-time Grand Slam champion, Aryna Sabalenka, has now reached her fourth final this season. After winning the title in Brisbane in January, she had to come back home empty-handed after losing the final matches in Melbourne and Indian Wells. With her recent win over Jasmine Paolini in the semis, Sabalenka has now become the sixth player in the last 20 years to reach the final at Indian Wells and Miami in the same season. This is her 12th career WTA 1000 final and the first one in Miami after she missed the chance in her previous tournament.

Speaking about this epic battle against Aryna Sabalenka, Jessica Pegula said, “I think she’s just a little bit better than me, results-wise, winning Australia, winning US Open, beating me Cincy, US Open. It’s going to be tough. Hopefully, I can get the better of her here. That would be awesome. But, you know, I’m also really proud that I can put myself up there with one of the best hardcourt players in the world. Making another final of a 1000 is huge.“

The Belarusian star, in her interview, added, “We had a lot of tough matches against each other. It’s always great battles. Cincinnati was a great level for me, but maybe not really from her. And then [the US Open] final was just like crazy match again. Yeah, she fought really hard in that second set, and that was tough match. I think it’s all about mental part of the game. Maybe mentally in some of the moments, I’m a bit tougher than her. But also, you cannot say that, ‘OK, I’m just tougher than her, that’s it, that’s done,’ you know? You have to bring that mental toughness every time.“

This is the third final for Pegula this season, and a win here would put her above Coco Gauff as the new world number 3. Can Jessica Pegula defeat Sabalenka and become the new US No.1?