Pegula vs Time: Advantage, Pegula

Jessica Pegula is one of a handful of players who could emerge as a first-time Grand Slam champion at Wimbledon this year. Already a major finalist, it would hardly come as a surprise to see the Buffalo native lift the Venus Rosewater Dish.

What makes her story more compelling is her age. At 32, Pegula knows she has only so many chances left to fulfill her Grand Slam dream. As the oldest player inside the WTA Top 10, it’s something she’s reminded of constantly.

“Everyone always tells you, ‘Oh, you have so much time, you’re young,’” she said on Friday after reaching the round of 16 with a 6-1, 6-3 win over Jessica Bouzas Maneiro. “I kind of don’t agree. It goes by so fast. It’s, like, snap your fingers. And I was 25 with people telling me that – now I’m 32 and I’m like, ‘Oh, that went really fast.’ It feels like it flew by.”

Pegula, who will face 18-year-old Iva Jovic in the round of 16, jokingly told reporters, “Stop talking about the age thing, oh my God,” but in all seriousness, she’s wise enough to understand that time is finite, and she’s doing her best not to let that reality weigh her down.

“You should be thinking you’re in a rush, but I kind of like the opposite thought process right now,” she said. “So I definitely have thought about that.”

Pegula, who married Tyler Gahagen in 2021, would also like to start a family someday, another reminder that time keeps moving.

“Being married, thinking if you want kids and stuff like that, I think that’s something around 30 years old that you’re really thinking about because it does affect your career.”

Pegula was a late bloomer, not cracking the Top 100 until 2019 at age 25. She reached the Top 50 two years later and has continued climbing ever since.

Since the start of 2021, Pegula has flourished in her late 20s and early 30s, compiling a 62-20 record at the majors. On Sunday, she’ll bid for the 10th Grand Slam quarterfinal of her career (her first came in 2021).

“I think when I turned 30, I was a little bit more pressed about it. Now I’m kind of just like it’s fine. I think it will work out the way that it works out, whether that’s me winning a Slam, whether I don’t win a Slam, whether that’s when I retire, decide to start a family or none of those things. Whatever kind of happens, happens.

“You can’t really look at it as so much pressure. I think it’s just knowing where you are, where you’re at, being content with that, just letting it unfold with what you want to do.”

No matter how—or when—Pegula’s career ends, one thing seems certain: she’ll continue pushing the envelope to discover what’s still possible. That willingness to evolve has helped transform her into one of the WTA’s most consistent performers.

“I just always go back to having to feel like I’m constantly adapting and challenging myself as a player, but like knowing yourself at the same time,” she said. “Knowing who you are as a player, knowing how to build off of that.”