Annoyed Jessica Pegula says she does not like what is happening to her tennis right now, ‘it really bothers me’

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Jessica Pegula’s quest for a third successive Canadian Open title has come to a surprising end.

Since Pegula won the Bad Homburg Open prior to the Wimbledon Championships, the 31-year-old has claimed just one victory.

This came in the world number four’s opening match in Montreal, when she defeated Maria Sakkari 7-5, 6-4.

Jessica Pegula appeared to be cruising towards a comfortable victory against Anastasija Sevastova in round three, but the Latvian had other ideas.

Jessica Pegula says she is bothered by her ‘up-and-down’ performances after Montreal defeat

At the Canadian Open, Pegula played Sevastova for the first time since 2019.

The pair had played on two previous occasions and claimed one victory each, but now Sevastova leads their head-to-head after sealing a shock victory in Montreal.

Pegula took control by claiming the first set and earned a break of serve at the start of set two before opening up a 2-0 lead.

But the 35-year-old managed to battle back and win the second set, before losing just one game in the decider to reach the last 16 at a WTA 1000 event for the first time since 2021.

Pegula was very disappointed with the result and she expressed what is bothering her about her level of play at present.

“It hasn’t been great, to be honest. I don’t really feel like I’m playing great tennis,” Pegula said during her post-match press conference. “At times I am, but I feel very up and down, kind of sloppy, which I don’t like. It really bothers me. I’m kind of a perfectionist, so I don’t like having to say that.

“I feel like I’ve gone through phases in my career, a few tournaments, where I feel like that sometimes, and you have to figure out how to get out of it and not feel sorry for yourself or make excuses. I’ve got to figure it out.

“You have to do it in those moments in matches where you’re in that moment where you have to compete and figure things out. I don’t think I’ve been able to do it great the last couple of matches.”

Jessica Pegula states the area of her game she is going to focus on at the Cincinnati Masters

After the disappointment of Montreal, Pegula’s attention will turn toward the Cincinnati Open.

She will be back on home soil and she has fond memories of the tournament a year ago. Pegula reached the final, where Aryna Sabalenka won 6-3, 7-5.

During the tournament, Pegula has vowed to focus on producing her best tennis at the most important times as she seeks to build momentum ahead of the US Open.

“Hopefully going into Cincy I think that’s definitely going to be my main focus every single match is focusing on those big points and those big games,” Pegula explained.

“Because I do think I am playing some good tennis to get up in these matches, and there’s times where I’m reeling off six, seven really good games, and then it kind of falls away. So I’ve got to figure out how to kind of sustain that higher level against these good players.”