By Richard Pagliaro | Friday, November 13, 2026
Photo credit: Garrett Ellwood/USTA/US Open
The shot heard around the tennis world was fired on the practice court.
Now, reverberations could come in the WTA Finals semifinals.
When 32-year-old Jessica Pegula faces 19-year-old Mirra Andreeva for the first time in tomorrow’s WTA Finals semifinals, it will be one of the most widely-watched, and scrutinized, debut meetings of the season.
Social media was buzzing last week after a video of a practice session between Pegula and Andreeva in Indian Wells emerged featuring some very real and raw comments from the fifth-ranked Pegula about Andreeva and her coach, Conchita Martinez. Pegula branded Andreeva a talented “diva” who needs to “be more humble.”
Since then, Pegula apologized to both Andreeva and Coco Gauff and all three players say it’s all good between them.
Still, those critical comments build buzz to this semifinal showdown and Pegula said that interest is a positive for the sport.
“The storyline writes itself. You know, I guess we had to play each other, and I think it maybe gets fans interested,” Pegula told the media in Indian Wells after she saved a match point to edge Wimbledon winner Linda Noskova, 7-6(2), 4-6, 7-5 on Thursday. “Like whatever, whatever works. I think it it’ll get people excited about the match. But yeah, we’re all good. But I mean, if it gets people to watch, I think it’s fine.”
As Hall of Famer Jimmy Connors famously observed during his stirring run to the 1991 US Open semifinals “This is what they paid for. This is what they want.”
Andreeva took a 4-0 lead over Pegula in a pre-tournament practice set at Indian Wells last week then left the court. Despite that lead, Andreeva erupted at coach Conchita before leaving the court. That break prompted Pegula to share her very candid views on Andreeva’s attitude and brand her as a disrespectful diva while talking to her coach, Mark Knowles, and practicing her serve. That private conversation was picked up by hot mics on court, without Pegula or Knowles knowing, and livestreamed around the world.
“Andreeva is a good girl, but I have lost a little respect for her,” Pegula told her coach. “She is a diva, she needs to be more humble and someone to put her in her place.”
Former US Open finalist Pegula said while she likes and respects Martinez, she believes the coach provokes Andreeva’s outbursts at times.
“If I was a coach and my girl, you just played four great games, and you’re up four-zero, and you’re mad at me, hitting balls at me, I would be like, first of all, [that’s] disrespectful to the other person,” Pegula said. “You’re four-zero [up], shut the f-ck up…”
Pegula said 2025 Indian Wells champion Andreeva took it all in stride and suggested she can learn a valuable lesson from the reigning Roland Garros champion: Imposing her inner diva.
“I mean, I think we’ve all seen that Mirra has a pretty good sense of humor with everything,” Pegula told the media in Indian Wells. “So she was totally fine, and she was like, “I’m a diva.” Like she embraces it, and so it was kind of funny.
“I was like, maybe I need a little bit more of that in myself on the court. But yeah, it was all good.”
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