Pegula credits escape room trip for US Open run

US Open 2025

Dates: August 24 through September 7 in Flushing Meadows, New York

Jessica Pegula, an American, claims that working out in an escape room with friends helped her rediscover her form and begin a run to the US Open quarter-finals.

Fourth seed Pegula needed only 54 minutes to defeat a agitated Ann Li 6-1, 6-2, on Sunday to maintain her hopes of winning her first career Grand Slam.

In a thrilling encounter, she will face 2024 Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova, who defeated home favorite Taylor Townsend 1-6 7-6 (15-13) 6-3 in the final match.

Pegula, 31, has had a difficult summer, with a humble first-round exit at Wimbledon and early-round exits at WTA competitions in Washington, Montreal, and Cincinnati.

After defeating compatriot Li, Pegula declared, “I felt terrible coming into this tournament, honestly.”

After a night out with friends, Pegula’s mood improved after leaving just before the US Open’s practice session with world number one Aryna Sabalenka.

We went to an escape room with my friends, and afterward, she said, “We realized I needed to stop being so irritable and overthinking all these behaviors.”

Pegula, who won the championship game at Flushing Meadows 12 months ago, looked much more capable on Sunday, breaking Li six times to claim the victory.

Pegula compared Li to Li, who she defeated in a much tighter match at the French Open back in May, saying, “I know when she’s serving well and has confidence she’s really dangerous.”

Despite having 58 aces in her first three matches and having 22 in her second, Li represented a potentially difficult opponent.

After winning the coin toss, the 25-year-old appeared confident, but Pegula quickly broke.

After making 10 unforced errors in the first set and winning just 8% of her second serves in the second set, Pegula appeared to have raised her game in response.

Pegula made a conscious effort to move to the net as well as always, even as she did on the baseline. In contrast, Li frequently avoided Pegula’s potent strokes in an effort to keep up.

“I felt really at ease moving in today and entering at the right times; it didn’t always feel that way,” Pegula said. “I wanted to carry that forward until the last game.

“It’s a component of my game that I can really use as a weapon. I occasionally get stuck at the back because of how well I perform there, but our coaches are pleased when I finish my overhead and volleys.

After missing the first two months of the season with a back injury, Krejcikova braved a stunning comeback against Townsend on Sunday, before admitting she wasn’t sure if she would ever play tennis again.

“What a match,” he said. After qualifying for her first US Open quarter-final since 2021, she said, “Just four months ago, I was off the court and I couldn’t play, I had pain in my back, and I didn’t know if I would ever be back.”

Few would have predicted that Krejcikova would turn things around after she defeated Jelena Ostapenko and fifth seed Mirra Andreeva to reach the last 16. Townsend is the world’s doubles world no. 1 but is 139th overall.

Before a marathon tie-break, Krejcikova’s way was swung in a second set riddled with errors, which required two breaks for each player.

Before maximizing her fourth set point, the Czech displayed remarkable mental fortitude to save eight match points.

Townsend started to appear subdued as a result of that fightback, but the American came out of a break to give Krejcikova a mental edge in the decisive set.