Jessica Pegula cruises to straight-set win in Wimbledon first round

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — Jessica Pegula cruised in her opening match Tuesday at Wimbledon, downing fellow American Ashlyn Krueger in less than an hour to advance to the second round.

The Buffalo native defeated Krueger, who is ranked No. 75 in the world, in straight sets 6-2, 6-0 as rain rolled into London and caused some matches to be delayed.

Pegula, the world’s fifth-ranked player, is looking to build off her first career title on grass at the Berlin Open in late June. Pegula’s best finish at Wimbledon came last year when she reached the quarterfinals but fell to eventual champion Marketa Vondrousova in three sets.

Despite five singles titles in her career, Pegula has never reached the semifinals of a Grand Slam tournament.

The 30-year-old will play the winner of Viktoriya Tomova and Wang Xinyu in the second round at a time and date to be announced.

Additionally, Pegula will compete in women’s doubles at Wimbledon alongside partner and world No. 2 Coco Gauff. The Americans will face Ukrainian pairing Anhelina Kalinina and Dayana Yastremska on Wednesday in their opening match.

Pegula was recently named to the U.S. Olympic team for the upcoming Paris Games. Tennis at the Summer Olympics begins July 27 at Roland Garros, the site of the French Open. It will be Pegula’s first time competing at the iconic red clay venue this year, as she was forced to withdraw from the French Open in May due to injury.

Adam Gorski is a Buffalo native who joined the News 4 team in 2022. You can find more of his work here .