Jessica Pegula and Jack Draper were two of the standout singles players competing in the US Open’s star-studded mixed doubles format this year.
A first-of-its-kind event, it saw some of the world’s biggest names combine in the most unlikely of partnerships, pitted against some established doubles teams to see who would come out on top.
Naturally, Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori came out on top, but Jack Draper and Jessica Pegula still caught the eye as a no-nonsense pairing who made it to the semi-finals.
Frustratingly, this ended up being the bulk of the Brit’s experience in New York, forced to retire after winning his first-round match in the singles due to injury.
Pegula, his partner, has now commented on Draper’s sad retirement from the US Open.
Jessica Pegula on Jack Draper retiring from the US Open with injury
Speaking at her press conference after progressing into the quarter-finals, she began by admitting: “I kind of knew his arm wasn’t great in the doubles.
“He kind of alluded like maybe it was it wasn’t 100% yet. But then obviously he played his first round, and then I saw him and was talking to him and then like an hour later he pulled out and so I just sent him a text and was like, “Hey, I’m so sorry. Hope you’re doing okay. Hope you get healthy.” And you know, all that stuff.
“It’s really tough. I mean, especially for the guys. It seems like he gets injured a lot. That is unfortunate when you can’t stay healthy.”
Pegula then explained how she dealt with that same issue, transforming her lifestyle to boost her fitness: “So, that’s something I feel like I’ve done really well over the last three to four years and why everyone asks how I’m so consistent. It’s because I’ve been able to stay relatively healthy and been able to play a lot of tennis. And not everyone needs to play a ton of matches, but for me, it definitely helps me and gives me a lot of confidence and helps with the consistency that I’ve been able to have over the last few years.
“That was always my issue when I was younger; I couldn’t stay healthy.
“After my hip surgery, I definitely had kind of this awakening moment where one rehab sucks, and I was like, I cannot do this again. I have to do everything in my power to stay healthy, or else I’m never going to give myself a chance to go out there and compete. So, I really reworked my fitness, my nutrition, and it wasn’t that I was doing anything wrong before. I just don’t think I was the most professional in the sense that I didn’t understand all of the things I had to be doing or needed to be doing. And that was just something I didn’t know when I was younger.
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“Nowadays, you see like 13, 14-year-old girls. I mean, it’s like instilled. They have a whole team. They have a physio. They have rehab. They have programs. I don’t know. I missed that gap or window or whatever it was. So, I just didn’t realise how much more I could be doing.
“And so, I definitely kind of had a rude awakening after that. To be like, okay, I really need to focus on this and invest in myself. And you know, that was kind of when my parents were still pretty involved in my tennis, and I kind of was like, what? I’m going to make all my decisions from now on because I wanted that to be on me and I wanted to really understand what I needed and my body and not really listen to anyone else.”
She concluded by reflecting positively on the experience, which should encourage Draper: “I was like 24 at the time, so I felt like that was kind of really pivotal for me in terms of staying really healthy.
“And, I’ve had a few little nagging things over the last year, obviously stuff’s going to happen, but to that point, it’s the most important thing. I mean, if you’re not healthy and you can’t give yourself the best chance to play, you’re not going to really see the results or see maybe your full potential.”
Jessica Pegula says if she’d ever play mixed doubles with Jack Draper again
Pegula was not finished there though, as she would also appear on Sky Sports to continue chatting about Draper.
Asked about their doubles partnership, she once again praised her partner: “Yeah, it was a lot of fun.
“We didn’t really know each other at all, but we got along really well. He’s very dry British humour, but I’m also very dry. So I think that’s why we got along very quickly, within the span of a couple days. And it was really fun getting to know him and his team. I was like, ‘I’m Team Draper now, I’m behind you. ’ So it’s been really fun.
“Unfortunately, obviously had to pull out. So I hope he can get healthy. Obviously, super talented, I feel like he’s probably up there with someone that can take out a Sinner or Alcaraz, but you’ve got to stay healthy. So I’m just hoping he gets healthy and comes back strong.”
She then sought to dispel one rumour, claiming: “Everyone kept saying, like, oh, we look so serious, blah, blah, blah, because we’re always whispering. But it wasn’t that serious. It was like constant banter basically the whole time.
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“It wasn’t as serious as it looked, which was kind of funny, because everyone kept saying we’re taking it so serious and down to business, it really wasn’t that.”
Asked if they’d ever consider reuniting in the future, last year’s US Open finalist finished by stating: “Yeah, I hope so. I think they mentioned something, I was like, ‘Yeah, sure, I’m down to play whenever. ’ I’ll never say no to a lefty serve either, it makes life a lot easier, so I’m like, ‘hey yeah, whenever you want to play’.”