Jessica Pegula and Mirra Andreeva will square off for the first time ever in the semifinals of the 2026 WTA Finals on Saturday.
The match promises to be extra spicy after a hot mic caught Pegula calling Andreeva “a diva” during a practice session livestreamed on the WTA’s YouTube channel earlier in the tournament. Taking the moment in stride, Andreeva leaned into the label on Instagram, posting a photo with Pegula playfully captioned “DIVAS” alongside nail-polish and kissing emojis.
After punching her ticket to the semifinals on Thursday, Pegula made no secret of her excitement to face Andreeva in a high-stakes showdown.
“Well, the storylines write themselves, don’t they? It’s the match people wanted to see,” Pegula told Tennis Channel after her 7-6, 4-6, 7-5 win over Linda Noskova.
Jessica Pegula vs. Mirra Andreeva
Pegula acknowledged that Andreeva — who dismantled World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka en route to the semifinals — will be a tough test.
“She’s played great,” Pegula said of the Russian.
“I watched her match against Sabalenka. She’s such an efficient player. She’s fast. She has a great serve. She’s strong and hits the ball pretty hard. And she’s smart. You could see how efficient she made her tennis look against Sabalenka.”
Pegula also joked that Andreeva’s good-humored response had officially earned her “diva” status in her own right.
“You know what? Maybe she turned me into a diva. Diva energy,” Pegula admitted.
“She took it [the hot mic incident] really well. She was like, ‘Yeah, people call me that all the time,’ like she didn’t even care. So it was funny; maybe I need a little of that.”
What Did Jessica Pegula Say
The hot-mic moment happened when Pegula and her coach, Mark Knowles, hit the practice courts in Indian Wells at the start of the tournament.
“If I was a coach and my girl, you just played four great games, and you’re up four-zero, and you’re mad at me, hitting balls at me, I would be like, first of all, [that’s] disrespectful to the other person,” Pegula said of Andreeva’s actions, via The Guardian.
“You’re up 4-0, shut the f**k up. But she just can’t.”
Pegula was also overheard saying that Andreeva would be even better than fellow American Coco Gauff if she had a more humble attitude.
The WTA subsequently apologized for private conversations becoming public.
“The WTA takes full responsibility for failing to inform our players and their teams that microphones, in place to give fans a livestream of the players’ practice, were active on the courts at the WTA Finals,” a WTA spokesperson said.
“We sincerely apologize for failing to meet our responsibility to ensure players and coaches were properly informed.”
Pegula or Andreeva will face the winner of the other semi-final between Noskova and either Sabalenka or Svitolina in Sunday’s WTA Finals championship match.
This article was originally published on HEAVY
The post Jessica Pegula Sends Strong Message to ‘Diva’ Mirra Andreeva Ahead of WTA Finals Showdown appeared first on HEAVY.
O que achou dessa notícia? Deixe um comentário abaixo e/ou compartilhe em suas redes sociais. Assim conseguiremos informar mais pessoas sobre o que acontece no mundo do tênis!
Convidamos você a clicar em Página de Parceiros para conhecer os parceiros do Tênis Portal e acessar seus sites.
Esta notícia foi originalmente publicada em: Fonte original