Jessica Pegula was knocked out of the US Open after she lost an all-American fourth-round clash against Madison Keys in New York on September 4.
Despite being the World No. 3, the American never really tasted success in the Grand Slams, failing to reach the semifinals of any of the tournaments. She lost in the quarterfinals in the previous three Grand Slams of the current season.
At Roland Garros, she lost in the third round. She also reached the quarterfinals of Wimbledon and lost to Marketa Vondrousova.
At the 2023 US Open, Jessica Pegula lost to Madison Keys, 6-1, 6-3, in the Round of 16. It was Keys' first win over Pegula on the tour.
Following Pegula's exit from the New York Major, tennis fans took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to share their reactions.
A fan explained what went wrong for Pegula and how Keys defeated the former.
"This won't be Pegula's breakthrough Slam after all. Roof closed a bit of a blessing for Keys with the sterile conditions and how her shots were flying through the court. Super high peak level too. Jess got flustered early and never recovered with negative body language as well."
Renowned tennis journalist Jose Morgado highlighted Pegula's struggling Grand Slam form, writing:
"Pegula continues to have a Grand Slam problem. She was awful today."
Another fan claimed that Pegula does not have the qualities to be a top-five ranked player.
"Pegula is not top 5 level."
Fans continued to find faults in Pegula's game against Keys.
"Pegula just looked so disinterested in the last couple of games, no champion mentality."
Fans also questioned her decision to compete in the doubles as well as the mixed doubles category. The American is still undefeated in both categories and will play her next matches in the coming days.
"Yeah, the doubles is fine, but I'm not sure the mixed was a good idea."
Below are a few more fan reactions:
Jessica Pegula reached the quarterfinals of US Open 2022
Jessica Pegula's best US Open performance was at the 2022 US Open. The American, who was seeded eighth in the tournament, lost in the quarterfinals of the event.
Pegula kicked off her 2022 campaign with a straight-set win over Viktorija Golubi. She followed it up with another convincing win over Belarusian Aliaksandra Sasnovich. In the third round, against Yue Yuan, Pegula dropped a set but eventually bageled the Chinese to win the match.
Jessica Pegula faced veteran Petra Kvitova in the fourth round. But the former Grand Slam winner was no match for the American, who won 6-3, 6-2. Pegula faced Iga Swiatek in the quarterfinals but lost to the eventual winner.