"Slower than a clay court" - Jessica Pegula complains about Australian Open conditions after shock loss to Olga Danilovic

Jessica Pegula has historically been a really solid performer at the Australian Open, making the quarterfinals three times in the past. More recently, it's been a bit shaky as she exited the event in the 2nd round in 2024 and in the 3rd round this year.

The loss on Friday came out of nowhere because Pegula had had a solid start to the year. The American bested Maya Joint and Elise Mertens in Melbourne before facing Olga Danilovic, who ultimately proved to be a bit too much for her. As it turns out, the matchup wasn't favorable for Pegula because the conditions were very slow.

Slow conditions tend to favor somebody like Danilovic who comes from a pretty solid clay background. Pegula, while decent on clay, much prefers faster conditions which she admitted to after the loss during the post-match press conference.

"Conditions were so slow. I mean it was slower than a clay court. It felt like the balls were so heavy and that totally favored her, especially with her forehand to my backhand," Pegula said.

While the first set was pretty close and ended up in a tiebreak, the second set was just an easy beatdown for Danilovic who finished it off 7-6(3) 6-1. Pegula claimed that the conditions during her loss were far more different than she had experienced earlier in the tournament.

"It's not even the same tournament from my 1st round match playing on Cairn during the day, it's fast. Playing there at night it's not even remotely the same. It's tough; everyone has to deal with it. Some people deal with it better than others. I prefer faster; I think everyone on tour knows that," Pegula said.

Jessica Pegula still hunting for maiden Slam in 2025 season

2025 Australian Open - Source: Getty

The goal for Pegula in 2025 isn't much different than her goal in 2024. The goal has been to win a Grand Slam trophy for a while now, and she came closest at the US Open last year. The American reached the final at Flushing Meadows, but fell to World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the final.

The two Majors coming up next, the French Open and Wimbledon, have been decent hunting grounds for the World No. 7. In both events, she has reached as far as the quarterfinals. Last year, she skipped Roland Garros and reached the second round at Wimbledon.