Jessica Pegula (4th-ranked USA) expresses her satisfaction with the trophy after winning the singles title at the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) Tour Hana Bank Korea Open (total prize money: $259,303) at the Olympic Park Tennis Court in Songpa-gu, Seoul on Friday.
Pegula defeated Yuan Yue (128th-ranked China) 2-0 (6-2 6-3) in the final.
“It’s very cool,” Pegula, whose mother Kim was adopted by the United States from Seoul in the early 1970s, said after receiving the trophy, which is shaped like porcelain, “and it feels even better to have a trophy with Korean flavor.”
“My opponent came from behind in the second set today, but I got over the hump,” she said, “and I’m even happier to win my last tournament before the WTA Finals at the end of October.”
“I’ll have to look at the schedule, but hopefully I will,” said Pegula, who won the title in her second appearance at the Coria Open in 2019, when asked if she will play in 2024. “Next year, it will be a higher-ranked WTA 500 event, so it won’t be as easy to defend my title,” she laughed.
Describing the feeling of winning in his mother’s country as “very special”, he recalled four years ago that “in 2019 I came with my mom and my grandfather, who adopted her”.
“My mom had a heart attack last year and is getting back to health, and she told me she would be watching this week’s tournament,” he said, adding that his grandfather has been texting him congratulations since his win.
Pegula entered the 2019 tournament ranked 60th in the world and was knocked out in the first round of the main draw, while this year’s tournament saw him emerge as the world No. 4 top seed.
When asked about the loud airplane noise during the tournament due to the air show at Seoul International Airport in Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do, starting on the 17th, he said it didn’t affect him too much, but he was interested to know what the air show schedule was.
“I was in Korea this past weekend and had some time to explore Itaewon and eat a lot of Korean barbecue,” Pegula said. “Before I leave tomorrow afternoon, I’m going to watch the NFL Bills game and cheer them on.”
The NFL Buffalo Bills are owned by Pegula’s parents, Terry and Kim Pegula. 파워볼분석