Pegula plays “kind of a perfect match” to win Montreal WTA 1000 title
Montreal, CANADA – With a nerveless, brilliant and dominant performance in the final, Jessica Pegula (USA) won the WTA 1000 title at the Canadian Open in Montreal and also left herself feeling inspired and energised for what is coming next.
Playing this high level of tennis, the Yonex ambassador will be among the contenders at her home Grand Slam, the US Open, which begins in New York City on August 28th.
In Pegula's words, she produced "kind of a perfect match" in the final, with the World No. 3 hitting 16 winners to only 3 unforced errors and dropping just one game for a 6-1, 6-0 victory over Liudmila Samsonova that took just 49 minutes. That astonishing display came from Pegula feeling so at ease on the court, having already beaten her doubles partner Coco Gauff in the quarter-finals and World No. 1 Iga Swiatek in the semi-finals.
History was made in Montreal as Pegula was the first American to claim the Canadian Open for 10 years and she also became only the third American to win multiple WTA 1000 titles. But even more important was how she felt after her victory in Montreal, which was her first title of the season, her second ever WTA 1000 title and the third of her career on the WTA Tour. "We're out on tour to win tournaments and to win titles every single week, but tennis can be really tough where you sometimes lose a lot. Even when you're winning a lot of matches, you're still not winning tournaments, so it can get tough," Pegula said. "Winning a week like this week makes it all worth it and makes you want to keep going for more."
Pegula felt free on the court. "Beating Coco and beating Iga were two really tough wins back-to-back and being able to do that and then just come out today and play a really clean match was kind of great. I felt like I didn't have a ton of pressure at any point or I wasn't worried too much today," said Pegula. "I played a really clean match. I played kind of a perfect match. I just played freely. It was a good day."
Shibahara takes doubles title
In a strong week for Team Yonex in Canada, Ena Shibahara (JPN) took the women's doubles title. Shibahara and fellow Japanese Shuko Aoyama saved two match points in the final against Yonex ambassador Demi Schuurs of the Netherlands and Desirae Krawczyk of the United States. Shibahara and Aoyama's 6-4, 4-6, 13-11 victory brought them their second title of the season.
Rybakina’s run to the last four
Two of the four semi-finalists in the women's singles were Team Yonex players, with head-to-toe ambassador Elena Rybakina (KAZ) also reaching the last four. Just like Pegula, Rybakina demonstrated she is among the women who could win the US Open.
Paul defeats World No. 1
In a historic moment for US tennis, two Team Yonex players defeated the respective WTA and ATP World No. 1’s in the same week – a feat that had not been achieved since 2008. In addition to Pegula beating Swiatek on the WTA Tour, Tommy Paul (USA) defeated Carlos Alcaraz 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 in the quarter-finals of the ATP Toronto tournament. "I played a really good match today. I really went after my shots," Paul said after reaching the semi-finals of an ATP Masters 1000 tournament for the first time.
Yastremska wins first title for four years
Playing with the new PERCEPT racquet, Dayana Yastremska (UKR) has won her first title in four years with her success at the WTA 125 Polish Open. "This means the world to me," the head-to-toe Yonex ambassador said after coming from a set down to defeat Belgium's Greet Minnen 2-6, 6-1, 6-3. Yastremska, who has been as high as World No. 21, saw her WTA ranking jump from No. 149 to No. 112.