Round 1: Jessica Pegula vs. Shelby Rogers
Arthur Ashe Stadium – Night Session – Second Match
- Tuesday night under the lights of Arthur Ashe Stadium, fans will be treated to an all-American match between No. 6-seeded Jessica Pegula and Shelby Rogers—coincidentally, the second of the day on the women’s side of the draw, following Danielle Collins and Caroline Dolehide.
- The match caught eyes in part because of an announcement made by Rogers on social media Friday that she will retire after this year’s US Open following a successful 15-year career on the WTA Tour. The South Carolinian reached the quarterfinals at Roland Garros (2016) and here in Queens (2020), before hitting her career-high ranking of No. 30 in 2022. She cited a body pushed to its limit and a litany of injuries as catalysts for her retirement.
- “I always said that if my heart loves it and my body is healthy I would play this sport forever! But now my body is telling me it’s time,” she wrote.
- Rogers has a tough ask to start her final tournament. The Buffalo, N.Y. native is currently in top form, only three pegs off of her career-high ranking of No. 3 in 2022. Despite coming off of a Grand Slam season that was less than ideal so far, cut by second-round exits in Melbourne and London, Pegula defeded her title in Canada, and then finished runner-up at the hard-court tune-up in Cincinnati. A six-time Slam quarterfinalist, Pegula made it to that round in New York back in 2022, and is looking to return to—and improve upon—that result as she enters her eighth US Open main draw.
- The compatriots go way back. Less than a year apart in age, the two have been competitors since they were children, playing each other at smaller tournaments on their way up to the pros. Pegula specifically recalled battling with Rogers at 16-and-under sectional tournaments in Georgia, way back at the beginning of their relationship. After the release of the main draw, she said their meeting in the US Open will feel like a “full-circle” moment for the two long-time competitors, who have never played against each other at the professional level. Regardless, it will be a tough match to play, knowing what a possible Rogers' loss would mean.
- “It sucks having to play her,” Pegula said. “But it’s pretty crazy and I think cool, in the same way, to say that we were playing at all these crazy sectional tournaments.”
- In the next round, the winning American will have to face a former Grand Slam champion. But which one? Whoever wins will meet the winner of the match between Sofia Kenin, who was crowned champion in Melbourne back in 2020, and Emma Raducanu, whose historic run from the qualifiers to the championship of the US Open in 2021 made her a global sensation. That matchup will be the last match to tip off in the Grandstand on Tuesday.
