'I don't think I'm getting that follow': Jessica Pegula jokes with Jack Draper after US Open mixed doubles loss

Jack Draper and Jessica Pegula have gone through quite a journey in the past two days, featuring together at the US Open Mixed Doubles Championship. Originally, the Brit was paired with Qinwen Zheng and even Paula Badosa before both had to withdraw due to injury, forcing him to adapt and build a connection with Jessica Pegula.

The pairing discussed earlier in the tournament, they had claimed to have exchanged only "four words" before the partnership. One semifinal run later, Pegula doubts her chances of getting a follow back from Draper on Instagram. In a post-match press conference, the American star told Draper, "I followed you on Instagram... I realized you follow like five people or something . So, I don't think I'm getting that follow. But it's fine.".

In actuality, the number 1 British player with 479,000 followers, only follows seven other accounts on his Instagram account. Those seven accounts include brands he is sponsored by, like Burberry, Vodafone, Dunlop Tennis, IMG Tennis, and his new clothing sponsorship with Vuori Clothing. The two other accounts are concerning Alzheimer's research and support, presumably to raise awareness of the disease, which his grandmother was diagnosed with in 2015.

Draper elaborated on his Instagram usage as he said, "I don't really go on it too much.".

Nonetheless, the pairing had a fair share of intense yet funny moments during their stint at the US Open Mixed Doubles Championship. In the middle of their semifinal bout against Casper Ruud and Iga Swiatek, Draper was seen singing along with the Arthur Ashe Stadium DJ by his teammate. Pegula was s urprised by this and expressed her surprise by saying, " I was like, Oh, a Goo Goo Dolls fan? He actually sang [Iris by the Goo Goo Dolls] at one point on the changeover, which was pretty funny.".

The number 1 seeds did eventually lose 3-5, 5-3, 10-8 after 1 hour and 25 minutes. Despite the loss, Draper discussed how much fun he had in his first US Open night session, saying, "We're a team. It was a lot of fun. We had a lot of funny things said in between the points. Yeah, it was good. Pumping each other up, as well.".

The British star, who will likely be the number 5 seed heading into the men's singles, also said, "It's such a good feeling to get the energy from the crowd," who was able to witness a full Fan Week crowd inside Arthur Ashe. Pegula also reiterated Draper's praise for the atmosphere by saying how it was "Arguably more crazy almost than a singles match,".

She continued to explain by stating: "Sometimes people are still filtering in. There's a lot of matches going on throughout the day. They're switching sessions... Yeah, I don't think the atmosphere, [that] you could reall y beat it.". For Pegula, who thrives in both singles and doubles, it was striking to see the reinvented mixed event generate an atmosphere every bit as electric as some of her biggest singles nights.

Jack Draper and Jessica Pegula’s whirlwind partnership may have lasted only two days, but it was far from uneventful. After coming together at the last minute, the pair stormed through the early rounds, opening with a straight-sets 4-2, 4-2 win over Emma Raducanu and Carlos Alcaraz. Their momentum carried into the quarterfinals, where they ousted the Russian pairing of Daniil Medvedev and Mirra Andreeva in a 4-1, 4-1 to book their spot in the semis.

Though their run ended at the hands of the number 3 seeds Iga Swiatek and Casper Ruud, who lost to eventual champions and doubles specialists Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori, the Brit-American duo left plenty of memorable moments both on and off the court. Now, the two will reset their focus on singles with Draper looking to back up his breakthrough season with a strong Open showing, while Pegula, the 2024 runner-up, remains one of the tournament’s biggest home hopes.