Jessica Pegula recently won a fourth WTA 1000 title of her career at the Dubai Tennis Championships.
Pegula, the world number six, beat Elina Svitolina in the final to claim her first title in the UAE and a 10th WTA Tour title in total.
Shortly after winning the tournament, Pegula was forced to withdraw from the ATX Open due to a left knee injury.
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Pegula has proven herself to be a Grand Slam contender: an individual who has reached the latter stages of Grand Slams but has – so far – been able to get over the line.
With this in mind, we asked tennis fans on TalkingPoints: how do you rate Jessica Pegula’s chances of ever winning a Grand Slam?
The majority of Tennishead respondents believe Jessica Pegula will not win a Grand Slam
When reviewing responses to the question, many TalkingPoints respondents were pessimistic about Pegula’s chances of winning a major title.
Liam McMillen claimed that time is running out for the American, saying: “I think it’s too late now to be honest. She’s probably got about six or seven more attempts at her ‘peak,’ and some of those will be on grass and clay.
Matthew Johns agreed with Liam, adding: “I’m going to say no, unfortunately. I think she will feature regularly in the latter stages of Grand Slams, but there will probably always be someone better than her at this stage of the tournament…”
Another contributor stated that while he enjoys watching Pegula play, they cannot envisage the American leaping over the Grand Slam hurdle.
“I like her, but don’t see it happening,” they said. “Can put one and a half good matches in a row against the top players, but she’s not very mentally tough and gets down on herself very easily.”
Pegula has reached one Grand Slam final in her career so far. At the 2024 US Open, the American defeated Iga Swiatek and Karolina Muchova on her way to the final before losing to Aryna Sabalenka.
Pegula has also made Grand Slam semi-finals on two occasions, and the quarter-finals on eight occasions [including runs to the semi-final].
One contributor added that Pegula’s chances of winning a Slam are ‘slim to none,’ while another said: “Time is not on Jessie’s side. I do not think she will win a Grand Slam.”
John Verrall took a slightly different stance when assessing Pegula’s chances of winning major silverware, comparing the American to ATP star Alex de Minaur.
He said: “I put her in the De Minaur category of players. I think she’s brilliant and has fully maximised her weapons but when she gets to the very end of Slams she can just be overpowered and it’s hard to see how that changes.”
Jessica Pegula’s 2026 season so far
- Pegula reached the semi-finals of the ASB Classic before losing to eventual champion Marta Kostyuk
- She then made the Australian Open semi-finals, before losing to eventual champion Elena Rybakina
- Almost a month later, Pegula won the Dubai Tennis Championships, beating Elina Svitolina in the final
De Minaur, like Pegula, is yet to win a Grand Slam title. The Australian, ranked sixth on the ATP Tour, has reached seven Grand Slam quarter-finals without advancing further.
Some fans believe in Jessica Pegula’s chances of winning a Grand Slam
“I think she can, her level doesn’t dip too much,” said George Patten. “She doesn’t have the firepower of others, but as we keep saying, if the draw opens up, I’d back her to sneak a Slam before she retires.
Aryna Sabalenka or Iga Swiatek… who do you prefer? 🤔
Peter Lynch concurred with George’s sentiment, adding: “I think she’ll do it, much like Madison Keys did in Melbourne last year. Still got a long way to go in her career to do it
Another respondent expressed their faith in Pegula, saying: “I believe she has the ability to win a Grand Slam. I am rooting for her.”
“If she can win Dubai, there is a great possibility she can win a Grand Slam title,” said another.
Pegula did indeed win in Dubai, and has once again proven her status as one of the best players on the WTA Tour. However, whether her talent translates into a Grand Slam title remains to be seen.
With the likes of Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek and Elena Rybakina competing for the biggest prizes, the WTA Tour now has an extremely deep pool of talent, and the overall standard of the Tour is arguably the best it has ever been.
This factor will make it harder for Pegula to win a major title. However, she has the talent – particularly on hard courts – to challenge the very best, and her best opportunity to write her name in history could be at the 2026 US Open.
