Jessica Pegula Withdraws from Singapore After Intense Hard-Court Season

Jessica Pegula’s scorching summer has finally caught up with her. The world No. 3 has withdrawn from next week’s WTA 500 event in Singapore, citing the physical toll of a relentless hard-court swing that ended with another deep run at the U.S. Open.

“After a long and physically demanding few weeks at the U.S. Open, I'm just not quite ready to get back on court and compete at the level I expect from myself,” the American wrote on social media this week, drawing a firm line under any hope of a quick turnaround.

It’s hard to argue with the decision. Pegula has been everywhere and winning almost everything. She reached finals in Washington, D.C. and Cincinnati, then backed that up by making the U.S. Open semifinals for the second straight year. Across the American hard-court stretch she went 15-4, the kind of run that leaves even the fittest players running on fumes.

Her season numbers tell the same story. Pegula’s 50 match wins lead the WTA Tour in 2024, a haul that has pushed her to a career-high No. 3 in the rankings at the age of 32. The schedule has been unforgiving, the standard she demands from herself even more so.

Singapore, which starts Monday, will feel her absence. Pegula was slated to be the top seed and the clear headliner of the 28-player draw. With her out, that mantle passes to No. 5-ranked Mirra Andreeva, the teenage prodigy suddenly elevated to the role of tournament standard-bearer.

The field still carries weight. Top-20 players Amanda Anisimova and Alexandra Eala are among those set to start, each sensing an opening where Pegula would have loomed as the roadblock.

Pegula, meanwhile, steps back from the grind for once. After a summer spent leading the tour in wins and pushing deep at every stop, the choice is simple: protect the body now, or risk paying for it when the stakes rise again later in the season.