Jessica Pegula has to share a locker room with the likes of Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff.
Pegula has been left frustrated by her rivalry with Sabalenka, who she could play if she reaches her second Grand Slam final at the Australian Open.
Despite having her eyes on the title in Melbourne, Pegula has actually not had ideal preparation for the Australian Open.
As she began her singles campaign in winning fashion, Pegula, who is also playing doubles at the Australian Open this year, has spoken about the atmosphere in the women’s locker room.
Jessica Pegula admits the women’s locker room can be ‘tense’ sometimes
Despite the challenges she faced during the off-season, Pegula has made an emphatic start to her Australian Open campaign after beating Anastasia Zakharova, 6-2 6-1.
After winning her first round match in just over an hour, Pegula spoke in her post-match press conference.
When asked about what it is like to share the locker room with her rivals, Pegula admitted that it can be a little tense and awkward at times.
“It definitely can be tense,” said Pegula. “Not in a bad way, but just, you know, you come off the court. Maybe you just played someone. There’s a lot of emotions. You’re upset; they’re upset. Or you just see another girl come off a crazy match, and she’s really upset.
“It is a weird dynamic. I think that’s special a little bit to tennis that you could be changing and getting ready right next to the person that you’re playing or that you lost to or that you beat.
“Yeah, I think we all have a good awareness. We just don’t like to get in each other’s way too much if that’s the case, but it can be a little tense and a little awkward at times.”
When asked a follow-up question about whether she tries to avoid eye contact with players in the locker room, Pegula explained that she generally tries to keep herself to herself.
“Yeah, I don’t know. I just try to stay in my lane,” answered the American. “It depends. If you know the person really well and you can’t avoid each other, you’re probably on the same schedule, and you’re maybe right next to them, you know, you can small talk and stuff like that.
“I think it just kind of depends on who it is and what your relationship with them is, but you know, I never try to go out of my way too much to, I don’t know, make it a huge deal. I think sometimes when you have your match, you just like to stay in your lane a little bit and, yeah, keep to yourself.”
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Coco Gauff reveals the mistake she made in the locker room at the Australian Open
Pegula is not the only player who has been asked about the general vibe in the women’s locker room, with the question also addressed to Coco Gauff, who beat Kamilla Rakhimova in her first round match.
Gauff also admitted that she finds the locker room awkward, before revealing that she had just accidentally congratulated a player who had in fact lost.
“Yeah, it is awkward,” Gauff said in her post-match press conference. “I had an awkward one after our match. I won’t say who. But I thought a person won and they didn’t. Yeah, I was, like, Oh, and then they were, like, No. And I was, like, Oh. But they took it well.
“Yeah, there are moments like that where you don’t know whether to speak to the person or not, if you haven’t seen the score and how their match goes. I’m usually pretty good at doing that, but today it was a mess-up. But luckily the girl, I know her, she’s super sweet.
“Yeah, that happens. And as far as like opponents, yeah, it is always sometimes awkward. You say hello and stuff. But the people I know really well, it’s not really that awkward. We’ll talk and be, Okay, see you out there, and that’s fine.
“But always people you don’t know, you don’t know whether to say hi to them or not. I’m someone who usually always says hi, but the responses vary. And I understand, get in the moment.
“Yeah, I think the worst about sharing a locker room is seeing someone, knowing they played today but not knowing how the score went. You don’t know what mood they’re in. I always find that hard to navigate.”
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When probed over exactly what she told this player, Gauff revealed that she assumed they had won after spotting them eating candy.
Gauff added, “I just said, ‘Oh, it must have went well’, because they were eating candy, and they were, like, ‘No, this is depression candy’.”
The world number three will be hoping to avoid any awkwardness after her next match, where Gauff will play Olga Danilovic, who fought back to beat Venus Williams in the first round.
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