At an age where most female WTA players usually end up hanging up their racket, Anastasija Sevastova is still at it. The tennis mom is continuing to pursue her career with each new challenge. While this season has been anything but impressive, Sevastova has been pushing herself. After consecutive early exits in Libema, Wimbledon, and the IASI Open, the 35-year-old has shown promising signs this week. At the Canadian Open in Montreal, she’s been on a roll, to say the least. However, she’s now set to face the biggest threat at the 1000-level event. She will face American star and World No.4 Jessica Pegula in the R32.

Pegula will look to continue her domination at this tournament, and why not? She’s a defending champion at the Canadian Open, having emerged as the winner in 2023 and then 2024. This time, too, she will look to dismiss Sevastova’s challenge and keep her campaign alive. But what about her Latvian opponent? Ahead of their face-off, perhaps it’s the best time to know more about Sevastova.

Anastasija Sevastova was born in April 1990, in Liepaja, Latvia, to Diana Golovanova. Sevastova’s mother is a single parent who raised her since birth. Diana’s been an English teacher by profession. So, how did a young Sevastova get to know about tennis? Well, it was her grandmother who introduced her to the racket sport at the age of six. She kept playing it for fun until she turned 15. After turning pro in 2006, Anastasija made her WTA debut, as a qualifier, at a 2007 event in Istanbul. However, she couldn’t move past the second round.

However, Sevastova finally won her maiden WTA title at the 2010 Oeiras. She was the first Latvian woman to win a singles title in seventeen years since Larisa Savchenko-Neiland won at Schenectady in 1993. She soon made rapid jumps in the rankings, too. After entering the top 100 in 2009, she broke into the top 50 in October 2010. But then came a sudden setback, due to which she had to quit tennis. The reason was her inevitable issue of constant injuries (mainly muscular and back). In 2013, she retired from professional tennis due to her physical limitations.

But guess what? Sevastova decided not to give up on her tennis endeavors. In January 2015, she came out of retirement and resumed playing by appearing in lower-level events to get back in form. One year later, in 2016, she gained attention by entering the quarterfinal stage of the US Open. And the following year, she replicated her performance in New York. But she didn’t stop. During the 2018 edition of the US Open, Sevastova achieved her best run at a slam. She reached the semis before losing to 23-time slam queen Serena Williams.

Here’s a quick overview of Sevastova’s slam journey and her best campaigns so far:

• Australian Open: Fourth Round (2011, 2019)
• French Open: Fourth Round (2019)
• Wimbledon: Third Round (2021)
• US Open: Semifinal (2018)

Thanks to her amazing run in the 2018 US Open, she also reached her career-best ranking of No.11 in October that season. So far, she’s won four overall singles titles, while amassing a total career prize money of $8,407,048. Ever since she gave birth to her first child, nearly three years ago, Sevastova has faced continued obstacles as she’s trying to keep her tennis journey afloat.

Anastasija Sevastova looks to leave a solid impression after making a tennis comeback.

Anastasija Sevastova had to go on a long maternity leave due to her daughter Alexandra’s birth in December 2022. She welcomed the baby with her longtime trainer and partner, Ronald Schmidt. The WTA pro had shared the big update on her Instagram. When she came back to the tour in late 2023, the journey wasn’t smooth at all. Just when she was picking form, she injured her ACL (Anterior Cruciate Ligament) in early 2024. Result? She had to take an unwanted break from tennis, once again.

This year in April, Sevastova made her professional return after recovering from the injury. She appeared at the Madrid Open, where she couldn’t move past the R32. However, she showed promising signs at the Morocco Open. There, the Latvian pro managed to enter the quarterfinal phase before losing to Romania’s Jaqueline Cristian.

This week, her form looks intact after registering two straight wins at the Canadian Open in Montreal. In the first battle, she kicked out Australia’s Ajla Tomljanović before defeating a formidable opponent in Magda Linette. However, the next challenge will be tough when Sevastova takes on Pegula on Friday. So far, the two have met twice in their careers.

Currently, the H2H tally is leveled at 1-1. However, their last encounter took place six years ago when Pegula emerged victorious during the R32 at the 2019 Charleston Open. It will be intriguing to see who ends up having the last laugh this time.