Jessica Pegula's coach details management strategy that led to the American's US Open final run

After a first half of the season that saw her struggle with injury, Jessica Pegula went on an incredible run during the North American hard court summer that culminated with a US Open final appearance.

The Buffalo native split from her longtime coach, David Witt soon after her early round loss at the 2024 Australian Open. Subsequently, Pegula began working with Mark Knowles and Mark Merklein, former ATP doubles stars, in an attempt to right the ship.

After some deep runs in Miami and Charleston, Pegula was sidelined for two months due to injury. However, the former World No.3 made some changes to her training schedule, which included cutting down on her doubles schedule. Although the 30-year old still competed in 25 matches this season, that was still 20 less matches than she did in 2023.

"This year she had to deal with some adversity with the injuries, which is always tough,” said Knowles. “But as I explained to her in the beginning, I think it was a result of how much tennis she had been playing, which is a good problem to have. It’s tough for players to manage their schedule when you’re winning that much.
"We as a team and her and also her fitness trainer, John Opfer, we got together right after Wimbledon, kind of came up with a plan for the summer and we engaged that plan immediately."

Pegula will be competing at the year-ending WTA Finals event in November, where she finished runner-up to Iga Swiatek last season.