Jessica Pegula trails only Iga Swiatek in hard court dominance following opening victory at China Open

Top-ranked American Jessica Pegula may have had a slow start to the 2024 season, but the recent US Open finalist has showed little sign of slowing down this summer following her second round win at the 2024 China Open.

The Buffalo native was in superb form during the North American hard court summer season. Pegula defended her Canadian Open title and finished runner-up in Cincinnati. The 30-year old would then go on to reach her maiden Grand Slam final at the US Open, before losing to World No.2 Aryna Sabalenka.

After defeating Frenchwoman Diane Perry in her opening round match in Beijing, Pegula has accumulated 135 wins on hard courts since the start of 2020. This puts her behind just World No.1 Iga Swiatek, who was 147 hard court wins during that same period. Aryna Sabalenka sits in third place, with 133 hard court wins since the start of 2020.

Pegula seems to have a love for the surface, with five of her six WTA singles titles coming on hard courts. Furthermore, 11 of her 14 career finals have come on that surface. The World No.3 has won 16 of her past 18 matches, with both losses coming at the hands of Sabalenka. Both women are competing at this year's China Open, with Sabalenka seeded first while Pegula is the second seed.