“Every week, there’s someone to root for because there’s usually someone doing good,” Jessica Pegula said, and she’s not kidding. American tennis is living its golden moment, and the numbers speak louder than any hype. Let’s start with the women. Two Grand Slam titles this year? Both in red, white, and blue hands. Madison Keys crushed it at the Australian Open, and Coco Gauff ruled the red clay in Paris. Pegula hasn’t just been watching from the sidelines either. She’s got titles in her pocket, too: ATX Open and Charleston Open. That’s some serious trophy traffic. But the men aren’t so far behind. And the World No.3 is giving them their flowers, too!
Taylor Fritz, after a bit of a dip in form during the clay season, is clawing his way back. He dropped from No. 4 to No. 7, but his win in Stuttgart has him right back on No. 4 again. That’s called a comeback. Tommy Paul is riding high, too. A solid run to the French Open quarterfinals lifted him from No. 12 to a career-best No. 8. That’s his third Grand Slam quarterfinal in just four majors.
And then comes Ben Shelton. He’s about to break into the Top 10 for the first time, sitting pretty at No. 10. His semifinal run at the BOSS Open plus Daniil Medvedev’s early loss in s-Hertogenbosch gave him the final push. It’s been 19 long years since three American men were inside the Top 10 at once. That last happened on April 17, 2006. Back then, it was Andy Roddick at No. 4, James Blake at No. 7, and Andre Agassi at No. 10. Now, the torch has officially passed.
Jessica Pegula is loving every bit of it. She took to her Instagram Story and shared a post about this history-making moment. The caption? “OK ” Simple. Loud. Proud.
These guys have been slowly building towards their success. Fritz’s Stuttgart title came after taking down Alexander Zverev in the final. He’s also been making deep runs: semifinal in Miami, quarters in Delray and Geneva. Paul has been the epitome of consistency. Quarterfinals at the Australian Open and French Open, and he’s not done. He made the semis in Adelaide, Dallas, Houston, and Rome. Ben Shelton? With that booming serve and fearless flair, he made the Australian Open semifinals and hasn’t slowed down. Final in Munich, semifinals in Indian Wells and Stuttgart, he’s building a highlight reel fast.
Image courtesy – Imago
In fact, American women are also currently on fire. Five of them are sitting inside the Top 13. Coco Gauff is now World No. 2 after her win in Paris over Aryna Sabalenka. Pegula is right behind at No. 3. Madison Keys is at No. 8. Emma Navarro stands strong at No. 10. And Amanda Anisimova just made it to No. 13 after a solid run at the Queen’s Club. No other country even has three women in that range.
Now, the focus shifts to grass. And Jessica Pegula is leading the charge. She’s back in Berlin as the defending champion!
Jessica Pegula begins title defence at Berlin Open
Jessica Pegula’s 31-11 record this season speaks for itself. Clay might not be her favorite, but she still won Charleston and made the quarterfinals in Paris. She lost there to French qualifier Lois Boisson, but it was a hard-fought run.
Berlin is shaping up to be a blockbuster. Nine of the WTA’s Top 10 are in the draw, turning this WTA 500 into a Wimbledon warm-up party. The 31-year-old has a bye in the first round and looks ready to go all the way again.Last year, she had to dig deep to win the Berlin title. She beat Anna Kalinskaya in the final after saving five championship points. A comeback for the ages and one of her most memorable wins.
She’s not just doing damage in singles. Pegula is pairing up with fellow American Ashlyn Krueger in doubles, and they’re already through to the quarterfinals with a solid Round of 16 win over Donna Vekic and Daria Kasatkina.
However, her singles campaign is also bound to begin on Wednesday. Her first opponent? Liudmila Samsonova. The Russian is in form, having just knocked out Naomi Osaka in three tough sets—3-6 7-6 6-4. That’s a spicy matchup to watch.
American tennis isn’t just back. It’s booming. And Jessica Pegula is right at the center of it all. The stars are aligning, and the grass is only getting greener. Will Pegula hold on to her Berlin crown?
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