Jessica Pegula Defeats Marta Kostyuk to Stay in WTA Finals Contention

Thirty-two-year-old Jessica Pegula ended a two-month winless run by defeating Marta Kostyuk 6:2, 7:5 at the WTA Finals, staying alive in the tournament following an opening defeat against Coco Gauff, Eurosport reported.

“It felt weird to win a match because since my last match at the US Open I’d just been losing,” Pegula said, as noted by Tennis World Italia.

“After that I went to Asia and went out in the first round right away, and yesterday I played Coco and lost. I thought, ‘Wow, it’s so nice to do an interview again after a match and hear the fans cheering for me.'”

The 32-year-old from Buffalo spoke at Tennis Channel about her victory against the Ukrainian. The straight-sets victory moves the world number five to a 1:1 record in Group 1, and she is right back in the running for a semifinal spot after the opening defeat in the US duel against Coco Gauff. It also places Pegula alongside Serena and Venus Williams as the fifth-oldest player to claim a WTA Finals match win since 2000, according to opta data highlighted by Tennis World DE.

Venus Williams (37 years and 128 days), Flavia Pennetta (33 years and 242 days), Nathalie Tauziat (33 years and 27 days) and Serena Williams (33 years and 24 days) had been the four oldest players to win a match at the WTA Finals since 2000. Now the 2024 US Open finalist also belongs to this group, occupying fifth place at 32 years and 257 days.

Pegula converted five of eleven break points against Kostyuk, taking the first set comfortably before playing a chaotic second set where both players dropped their serve four consecutive times. In the eleventh game, the 2024 US Open finalist broke the Ukrainian player’s serve once more before serving out the match.

“Today I served better than before, and she is an outstanding returner,” Pegula said. “With her return she puts enormous pressure on. I think that’s one of her biggest strengths. I’ve worked a lot on serving against players who return very aggressively: How can I cushion that and deal with it better?”

“Against Marta it’s complicated because you never know what to expect,” Pegula said. “She can come onto the court and up the pace, rush the net like a kamikaze or suddenly hit a return winner. That’s what makes it so difficult to play against her.”

Unlike standard tour events where a single defeat eliminates a player instantly, the round-robin format of the WTA Finals allows competitors to remain in contention despite early losses.

“We are used to losing a match and thinking, ‘That’s it, see you next year.’ But here you have to stay and keep fighting,” Pegula said, as transcribed by Tennis World Italia. “Today I was still thinking about the previous match and what I could have done differently. And an hour later you have to get back on the court and play against a completely different opponent.”

Pegula faces Linda Nosková in her final round-robin fixture. A victory will secure her advancement to the tournament semifinals, while a defeat would eliminate her from knockout contention.