Jessica Pegula’s Secret Mental Hacks to Crush Pressure and Own Tennis’s Biggest Stages Revealed!

When 31-year-old Jessica Pegula steps onto the court, she doesn’t just play tennis—she becomes her own coach, battling the fierce mental game that often gets overlooked behind the scenes. Ever wonder what it’s like to face the pressure of Wimbledon or the U.S. Open while juggling a whirlwind of emotions and the demands of a grueling travel schedule? Well, Jessica estimates that 90 percent of her success relies on mastering that invisible battle in her mind. It’s not just about swinging a racket; it’s about managing yourself, your emotions, and yes, sometimes even learning from the sting of public failure—all under the unforgiving glare of the world’s eyes. Off the court, she finds solace in caring for her dogs and pursuing passions that switch up her mental gears—proving that even top athletes need to hit pause sometimes. Curious about how she keeps her head in the game and turns mental grit into championship gold? Let’s dive into the mindset that fuels this Olympian’s relentless spirit. LEARN MORE

When 31-year-old Jessica Pegula steps onto the court, she becomes her own coach. Sure, match prep includes working with a world-class team of experts, but once competition begins, she’s largely alone with her thoughts.

Her game is 90 percent mental, she estimates—especially in an intense stretch of summer travel that included Wimbledon and the U.S. Open.

“You’re learning life lessons of how to manage people, manage yourself, manage your emotions,” she says. “We are learning and failing in front of a lot of people—or in front of the world, especially if you’re a top player. It makes you so much stronger.”

To decompress, Jessica finds caring for her dogs “therapeutic”—she and her husband founded A Lending Paw, a nonprofit that works with service dogs, and she partners with dog food brand Maev. (It’s tough to travel with pups, but some players have lovingly suggested adopting a dog together to bring on tour. “I’m like, ‘That’s an amazing idea. We need to do that!’ ”)

The Olympian also loves to golf, cook, and work on her skin care brand, Ready 24—anything that shifts focus away from tennis and uses a new part of her brain. When it’s time to lock in, she employs these strategies:

1. Rethink your routine.

A nonnegotiable pre-match routine can be tough to keep up on the road. So, Jessica adapts her to-do list—restringing racquets, styling her hair, prepping hydration—to the space she’s in and sticks to it as long as it’s working for her. “It’s a fun way to make me feel like I’m preparing to go out and battle,” she says.

2. Keep yourself honest…

Meditation helps Jessica corral her emotions—but she’ll never fake a positive attitude. She acknowledges anxious thoughts, accepts them, and lets them go, rather than bottling them up. “It’s this fine line of trying to get fired up, using your emotion to find motivation, but at the same time not letting it negatively affect you,” she says.

3. …but know when you need a break.

It’s normal to feel frustrated when training isn’t going to plan. But adaptability is part of the sport—so if irritation lasts beyond a practice session, “that’s a red flag for me,” Jessica says. “Even though I’m not playing well, maybe not practicing is better than trying to push through it.”

4. Take it point by point.

Jessica’s match mindset is all about staying in the moment. “When you’re super present, you get into this flow state,” she says. If she loses a point, she takes stock of what she should or shouldn’t have done and then quickly flips her focus to the next.

Amanda Lucci is the director of special projects at Women’s Health, where she works on multi-platform brand initiatives and social media strategy. She also leads the sports and athletes vertical, traveling to cover the Paris Olympics, Women’s World Cup, WNBA Finals, and NCAA Final Four for WH. She has nearly 15 years of experience writing, editing, and managing social media for national and international publications and is also a NASM-certified personal trainer. A proud native of Pittsburgh, PA, she is a graduate of Ohio University’s E.W. Scripps School of Journalism. Follow her on Instagram @alucci.