“This is so cute” – Jessica Pegula delighted by 15-year-old hitting partner’s candid interview at Charleston Open

Recently, Jessica Pegula responded to an interview with her 15-year-old hitting partner, Addison Roach, who was also present at the Charleston Open.

During the interview, Roach, a 15-year-old freshman from Mt. Pleasant in Charleston County, South Carolina, discussed his experience as the hitting partner for the WTA World No. 5. He also shared his thoughts on the range of emotions he felt while practicing with Pegula.

The 30-year-old playfully remarked that Roach’s friends had been teasing him about attending their practice sessions.

“Yeah, a lot of his friends, harrassing him a little bit during the points. He ended up getting one game finally. Actually, he broke me at the end there,”Pegula told ABC News 4 (0:16).

Roach himself mentioned that he was able to practice with Pegula after being connected by the hitting partner manager at the Charleston Open.

“Hitting partner, like, manager came up to me and asked me if I wanted to hit with Pegula on (Credit One) Stadium, and then, yeah, we just went from there,”Roach said (0:38).

In addition, Roach expressed that hitting with the WTA World No. 5 was an enjoyable experience, but it also came with a considerable amount of anxiety.

“It’s really cool. It’s probably one of the coolest things I’ve ever done. Lot of nerves walking out on to that stadium because Ons (Jabeur) was coming off and everybody was cheering super loud. I immediately started sweating,”the 15-year-old added (0:55).

Following the release of the interview, Pegula personally responded to it on social media.

“This is so cute. Haha,”Pegula wrote on X (formerly Twitter).

“Breaking Barriers: Jessica Pegula’s Journey to Empowering Women in Saudi Arabia”

According to reports, the Public Investment Fund (PIF) of Saudi Arabia has proposed a temporary $2 billion offer to merge the ATP and WTA Tours. Additionally, the PIF has expressed interest in finalizing a deal that would move the WTA Finals to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia’s capital city.

Despite facing criticism from veteran players like Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova, Saudi Arabia’s tennis aspirations have found support from players such as Jessica Pegula. During a recent interview, the 5th ranked player in the world shared that she had spoken with several women from Saudi Arabia to gain insight on the current state of women’s sports in the country.

“We’ve definitely spent a lot of time talking to women in Saudi Arabia. We have [No. 6–ranked Tunisian player] Ons Jabeur, who is also from the Middle East and a couple other girls,”Jessica Pegula told Front Office Sports.

“We’ve really taken the time to speak to them, and try to understand that and be like, ‘Are we making the right decision? Are we going to be helping women and women’s sports in those countries?’ And so far the feedback we’ve gotten has been, ‘Yes, it’s changing,’”she added.

Jessica Pegula, the current top seed at the Charleston Open, secured her spot in the third round by defeating fellow American Amanda Anisimova in a 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(3) match. She is set to face Magda Linette in her next match, with a chance to advance to the quarterfinals of the WTA 500 tournament.