Jessica Pegula has given her verdict on a topic that has divided opinions at the Australian Open this year.
There have been record crowds at the Australian Open this year, which were particularly noticeable during Alexandra Eala’s first round defeat on Court 6 at Melbourne Park.
This topic was broached to sixth seed Pegula, who has spoken about a number of topics at the Australian Open this year.
After winning her second round match in straight sets, Pegula revealed what she really thought about the record numbers coming through the gates at the Australian Open this year.
Jessica Pegula gives her verdict on the record Australian Open crowds
Pegula played her Australian Open doubles partner McCartney Kessler in her second round match, beating her compatriot 6-0 6-2 on Rod Laver Arena.
After winning her match in under an hour, Pegula spoke in her post-match press conference about how the significant increase in spectators felt from a players’ perspective.
While she was aware of the numbers coming into Melbourne Park, Pegula admitted that she has not been impacted by the increase, but appeared to see it as only a positive thing from her perspective.
“You know, I don’t even know what goes on out there, because I haven’t had to, like — I don’t walk and watch matches, but I did see some of the courts have, like, lines getting in, and it seems really busy,” said Pegula.
“I saw some reports that it’s some of their busiest they have ever been and it’s packed and all that, which is, I think, great. Obviously it shows that the event is growing, the sport is growing. That’s, you know, amazing.
“I think it was Eala is the match that I was looking at, and there was people, like, wrapped around the stadium just trying to get in, which is pretty crazy.
“I mean, it’s cool to see, and it’s exciting, but obviously, you know, for a fan experience, I don’t know, because I’m not living that same experience. But, hopefully, the event kind of continues to grow with the fans that we’re getting and making that still an enjoyable experience for them.”
Pegula has played both of her singles matches on show courts, but lost in the first round of the doubles tournament on Court 15.
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Jessica Pegula explains why she does not talk to her coaching box very often
From last year, the Australian Open introduced coaching pods on court, enabling players to have an even closer interaction with their team if they are playing on the three show courts.
While this change has been received positively by many fans and players, Pegula admitted that she does not actually like to frequently communicate with her team, but explained that the Australian Open’s change has made a positive difference compared to other Grand Slams.
“Yeah. I have always kind of been like give me less,” explained Pegula. “I think less is more for me, unless there is something really glaring, but I’m not the type that really wants to chat.
“Usually if I’m in a good frame of mind, I think I’m a little bit more open to talk and just not necessarily tell me what to do. I don’t think I like that, but I think it’s more of look out for certain patterns, look out for certain plays, or maybe cue me on something I need to change.
“But I like it to be very, like, problem-solving, kind of figuring things out. I don’t think I do well when someone kind of just, like, directly tells me, you need to do this, you need to do that. I don’t think I respond well to that.
“So I do communicate with them to keep it more of, like, an open dialogue almost. I think that kind of helps me get my brain thinking and problem-solving better out on the court and helps me see the court better when I feel like I have that type of communication.
“But it’s important, especially now with people being so close, especially here with the boxes are kind of down on the court. Before, I feel like in other slams, they are so far away that you can’t really hear them or know what they’re saying anyway if they were maybe mentioning something.”
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Pegula will now have sole focus on the singles tournament, as she looks to continue her strong start to the Australian Open this year.
Standing in the way of Pegula next is world number 101 Oksana Selekhmeteva, who she has never played before.
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