US Open: Jessica Pegula Drops Latest Update on Her Mother Struggling From “Significant Memory Issues”

Jessica Pegula is rewriting the script of her career under the lights of New York. The 31-year-old American marched into the US Open semi-finals with a commanding 6-3, 6-3 victory over Barbora Krejčíková, becoming the first woman since Serena Williams (2011–2014) to secure back-to-back final-four runs here without losing a set. Yet amid her charge toward another shot at glory, one absence lingers. The stands miss the presence of her mother, Kim Pegula, as Jessica Pegula drops the latest update on her continued battle with significant memory issues, a quiet weight behind her relentless rise.

Just moments after sealing her spot in the US Open semi-finals, Jessica Pegula reminded the world that her journey has always carried a weight far greater than tennis itself. On her X page, the American star reshared a powerful post from The Players’ Tribune, one that had originally carried her raw, unfiltered words about the night her world shifted forever, her mother’s sudden cardiac arrest in June 2022. What followed was not just a family crisis but the shaping of Pegula’s resilience, both on and off the court.

She recalled the timeline in haunting clarity: “In June 2022, I had just flown back to Florida from the French Open. I made the quarterfinals in singles and the finals in doubles. It was an amazing two weeks full of a lot of positives, including cracking the Top 10 in the world. A few days after I got home, I got a call around midnight (on my mom’s birthday) from my sister Kelly, who was staying at my parents’ house. Something was wrong with our mom, and she was headed to the hospital in an ambulance.” What unfolded next was every child’s nightmare: her mother unresponsive, her father helpless, and her sister fighting with her own bare hands to keep their mother alive.

“My mom was asleep when my dad woke up to her going into cardiac arrest and she was unresponsive for quite a while. My sister gave her CPR until the ambulance arrived…. Even though she doesn’t like to take credit for this terrible situation, she absolutely saved her life, followed by the critical job performed by the paramedics who arrived and were able to restore a heartbeat….” Pegula’s words carried the ache of reliving it all. Two weeks in the hospital turned into an unending vigil, a family tethered by fear and faith, trading shifts, carrying food, and urging her father to sleep when he simply could not leave her side.

In that haze of machines and whispered updates, tennis still found its way into the conversation. Pegula remembered, “I had already decided I was missing most of the grass season, but I still wanted to play Wimbledon if I knew my mom was OK. My dad didn’t want me to play, but I knew my mom would be upset if I skipped because of her. If the timeline worked out, I was going to play.” It was as if stepping on the grass was not just about sport but about carrying her mother’s spirit with her onto the court.

Time has brought slow, fragile progress. Her mother moved out of the ICU, into care, able to talk a little, though far from her old self. “My mom is still in recovery…. She is dealing with significant expressive aphasia and significant memory issues. She can read, write, and understand pretty well, but she has trouble finding the words to respond. It is hard to deal with and it takes a lot of patience to communicate with her, but I thank God every day that we can still communicate with her at all.” And with a quiet triumph, Pegula capped her repost with a line that spoke volumes: “And she was at my last two matches 🫶🏼.” A daughter’s gratitude, a fighter’s reminder, and a story still being written.

Carrying the weight of inner sorrow yet fueled by the same relentless hunger as last year, Jessica Pegula stormed into the US Open semis, sharing her emotions with raw honesty in the aftermath of her latest triumph.

Jessica Pegula shares her thoughts after reaching the US Open semis

Barbora Krejčíková opened the match with a falter, missing an overhead and tossing in her first double fault to surrender serve at love. Jessica Pegula seized the moment, racing to a 4-2 lead. Though a lapse in first serves allowed Krejcikova to claw back, the American swiftly tightened her grip. Another shaky service game from the Czech, marked by yet another double fault, gifted Pegula the break, and she consolidated to secure the first set in a crisp 38 minutes.

Krejcikova’s serve remained her undoing in the second. Broken at love to open the set, she handed Pegula the reins once again. Though the fourth seed showed brief vulnerability with two double faults of her own at 2-2, she summoned a blazing backhand passing shot to fend off the danger, steadied herself, and surged to 3-1. The Czech’s errors piled up, and a sprayed forehand widened the gap, giving Pegula an insurance break that proved decisive.

Though Krejcikova briefly stole back one service game, Pegula’s poise never cracked. Serving at 5-3, she absorbed the tension, capitalized on her second match point, and watched Krejcikova’s forehand drift beyond the baseline to close out a commanding 6-3, 6-3 victory.

“I’ve been playing some really good tennis,” Pegula reflected. “I feel like I’m just really comfortable. We all saw what she did against Taylor [Townsend], so I was happy that we’re done.” Her words echoed her performance: clean, composed, and ruthless in efficiency.

Now, with just two matches separating her from glory, Pegula stares down the US Open semi-finals with hunger and steel. After last year’s heartbreak in the final, the question remains: can she rewrite the ending this time?

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