Jessica Pegula was full of praise for Coco Gauff after losing in the Wimbledon quarter-finals.
Pegula was picked to beat Gauff by many given her better previous grass court pedigree.
The match looked to be going her way, before Gauff fought back to beat Pegula 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 to reach her first Wimbledon semi-final.
After losing in the Wimbledon quarter-finals, Pegula has revealed what she thinks Gauff is the best in the world at.
Jessica Pegula praises Coco Gauff for how she played on the big points
Coming into Wimbledon this year, Gauff had not won a grass court match since Wimbledon in 2024 after losing four consecutive matches on the surface.
As a result, Pegula was asked in her post-match press conference if she was surprised that she was not able to implement her game as effectively against Gauff on grass.
“I don’t think there was anything that surprised me that she did better,” Pegula responded. “I mean, with her serve, she can serve really well, and then obviously sometimes she can throw in some double-faults. I think that’s what makes it so hard to play against, is you’re not really sure what’s coming.
“I think in the first set she gave me a lot of double-faults, but I thought she would eventually serve better. I thought she would fight and compete and find a way to get some serves in. Then she started serving really well.
“Maybe you think, oh, she’s not going to serve that well. I think what’s tough on this surface is if she does serve well, she serves big and she serves really good.
“That wasn’t necessarily surprising. I think it’s just something where sometimes she doesn’t serve well and sometimes she can serve great.
“Over two-out-of-three sets, there’s probably a point where she is going to start serving better. She was able to do that today. I think that was kind of the main difference.
“I would say there was nothing really that surprised me that I didn’t think she was going to do. I thought it was pretty much how I thought it was going to happen. She was able to execute her serve on some big points, especially in the second. Then I thought she played a good third set.”
How do you rate Jessica Pegula’s chances of ever winning a Grand Slam?
This was a ninth meeting between Pegula and Gauff, but the first time they had ever played each other at a Grand Slam.
When asked if it felt different to play her compatriot at a major tournament, Pegula praised Gauff for how she played on the biggest points, claiming she is the best in the world at this.
“No, I didn’t even realize that. Not really. It felt the same,” said Pegula. “I think once you’re out there, you’re in the moment and you’re just playing the person across the net.
“I think, yeah, she stepped up on pressure points I thought really well. When she needed to lock in and just not miss a ball, that’s what she did.
“But that’s I think vintage Coco. I think that’s happened in all of our matches. It’s just whether I’m able to capitalize on it or not. But she’s the best in the world at that. How well she competes and how she makes you beat her no matter the score or the moment I think is her best attribute and why she was a major champion and done so well.
“I mean, that’s every time I play her. I’m not sure if it really made much of a difference being at a Grand Slam. It didn’t really feel that different to me out there. Felt like a lot of our other matches.”
Pegula’s point is evidenced in the break point conversion rate, of which she won just three of the seven points she had opportunities on across six games.
However, Gauff was clinical on her break points and won every single one of them to break Pegula’s serve five times.
| Wimbledon 2026 Quarter-finals | Break Points converted |
| Jessica Pegula | 3/7 (42.9%) |
| Coco Gauff | 5/5 (100%) |
Jessica Pegula rates her grass court season after Wimbledon exit
Pegula’s grass court season has now come to an end, with the 32-year-old reaching the final of the Berlin Open and the quarter-finals of Wimbledon.
When asked to reflect on her grass court season, Pegula claimed it was the best one she has had so far.
“I mean, it’s the best grass season I would say from start to finish that I’ve had,” claimed Pegula. “Being able to make finals of Berlin, beat some really good grass court players, and lose to [Linda] Noskova in the finals, who knows, may be in the finals here. We don’t know, but she’s been playing great.
“Yeah, to get some really good, solid wins here and play a good match in the quarterfinals, play on Centre Court for the first time. Had a great win in the fourth round. I think there were a lot of really good takeaways. I think it’s probably one of the better grass courts seasons I’ve had from start to finish.
“It’s short, so I guess it was short and sweet. Not the best result. But I think I can still walk away going into the hard court season playing some good tennis. Hopefully can build off of this to get a good start in the summer swing.”
How long will it take for Coco Gauff to complete the career Grand Slam?
Despite losing in the Wimbledon quarter-finals, Pegula is now forecast to climb one spot up to equal her previous career-high ranking of world number three.
However, if Gauff is able to win her semi-final match then Pegula would drop back down into the world number four position.
