'Don’t, don’t put that': Jessica Pegula’s hilarious slip-up in Berlin ahead of title defence

Jessica Pegula had to clarify her answer during a recent interaction to ensure that Coco Gauff would not get upset with her. The 31-year-old is set to feature in the Berlin Ladies Open, where she will feature in two categories.

Before the competition, Pegula featured in a video posted by the tournament’s official page on their Instagram account, where she was asked about who her close friends on the tour are. In the early phase of the response, Pegula forgot to name Gauff but corrected it instantly.

"I'm really close with Madison keys, Jenny Brady, Dez Krawczyk, I would say those are kind of like my closest but all the Americans,” said Pegula. “Like, honestly, like, Caroline Dolehide, she's great. Ashlyn Krueger, who's sitting behind us right now. Like, really nice. I get along with a lot of people, so.. Oh yeah, Coco, sorry, I forgot her. Don't, don't put that in there, because she's getting mad at me [laughs]."

Pegula and Gauff have played six matches in professional tennis, with the former holding an edge, having won four of them. Their most recent meeting took place in the semifinals of the WTA Finals in Riyadh last year, where Gauff came out on top in straight sets with a score of 6-3, 6-2.

Pegula will be defending her title in Berlin this year. She won the competition in 2024 after defeating Anna Kalinskaya in the final with scores of 6-7, 6-4, 7-6. Pegula has been given a bye in the first round in this year’s edition. Pegula is also competing in the doubles category. She and her partner, Ashlyn Krueger, secured a comfortable win in straight sets in the round of 16 against the pair of Donna Vekic and Daria Kasatkina on Monday with a score of 6-4, 6-4.