Jessica Pegula matches Venus Williams record after dominant win at the Italian Open
Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images Jessica Pegula delivered a commanding performance at the Italian Open, rolling past Rebecca Masarova 6-0, 6-0 in front of a packed BNP Paribas Arena. The match took just one hour, with Pegula breaking Masarova’s serve five times to cruise into the next round. It was Pegula’s first-ever double-bagel on tour.
She is still chasing her first Grand Slam title, but she’s already built a solid reputation as one of America’s top players. This win also put her alongside Venus Williams on an impressive mark that highlights her consistency in the women’s game. Pegula reaches 112 WTA 1000 victories Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images Jessica Pegula secured her 112th win at the WTA 1000 level with Sunday’s victory over Rebecca Masarova.
According to OptaAce, Pegula is now tied with Venus Williams for the second-most main draw wins by an American in WTA-1000 events since the format was introduced in 2009, both sitting on 112 victories. Only Serena Williams stands above them, holding the record with 148 wins before she retired in September 2022. Pegula will have a chance to move ahead of Venus if she gets past Anastasia Potapova in the next round.
Potapova, currently ranked world number 38, recently reached the final of the Madrid Open and picked up notable wins over Jelena Ostapenko and Elena Rybakina along the way. The Austrian has been busy in Rome already, coming through qualifying and picking up wins over Irina-Camelia Begu, Nikola Bartunkova, Dalma Galfi, Karolina Muchova and Liudmila Samsonova. Pegula boosts her ranking with a strong showing Jessica Pegula’s win over Rebecca Masarova on Sunday has already translated into valuable WTA ranking points.
Pegula was eliminated in the round of 32 by Elise Mertens, who was seeded 25th at the time. That exit saw her collect 65 ranking points. This year, by reaching the round of 16, she’s secured an additional 55 points over last year’s total.