Mark Knowles defends Jessica Pegula’s composed approach despite criticism

Knowles also touched on how he and co-coach Mark Merklein structure their practice sessions with Pegula.

“We try to keep it pretty relaxed, myself and Mark Merklein,” he said. “John [Opfer], the fitness trainer, as well. We’re all pretty relaxed, I mean, we’re intense.”

“We have our intense sides because we want to get the best out of Jess [Pegula], but we also have the side where, at the end of the day, it’s a tennis match. We did everything we could as a team.

“You went out there and executed. We couldn’t be more proud. It’s really a treat for us to work with somebody like Jess.”

Pegula responds to US Open 2025 campaign on new podcast

The Bahamian spoke about how balanced Pegula is both on and off-court. “She’s very balanced,” said Knowles. “She’s got a wonderful husband in Taylor [Gahagen], great family.”

“She has got great friends on tour; you see a couple of them are doing The Player’s Box now, their podcast.”

This comes after she launched The Player’s Box Podcast alongside fellow American stars Madison Keys, Jennifer Brady and Desirae Krawczyk.

After finishing as runner-up in 2024, Pegula returned to the US Open this year aiming to go one step further. She started well, advancing to the semi-finals without dropping a set.

In that round, she came up against world No. 1 Sabalenka, who had also beaten her in last year’s final.

Pegula took control early on Arthur Ashe Stadium, winning the opening set 6-4. But Sabalenka used her experience to turn things around, forcing a deciding third set.

Despite winning more points in the third set, Pegula couldn’t close it out and fell short with a 6-4, 3-6, 4-6 loss.

Even though she missed out on another final appearance, Pegula found positives in her performance throughout the tournament. Looking back at her preparation leading up to the event, Pegula said:

“Pit moment was when I walked off the court on Wednesday [after a tough practice before the US Open] and then we did an escape room and had a couple of drinks,” she said. “But then it turned into a solid couple of weeks for me; I turned it around somehow.”

Pegula shifts focus to Billie Jean King Cup Finals

Pegula will now turn her attention to the Billie Jean King Cup Finals, where she’ll be part of Team USA looking for its record-extending 19th title.

The team also includes Emma Navarro, McCartney Kessler, Hailey Baptiste, and Taylor Townsend who will compete together in Shenzhen, China, against Kazakhstan when the quarterfinals get underway on Tuesday September 16th.