Jessica Pegula bounced back from her 2026 WTA Finals opening loss, downing Marta Kostyuk 6-2, 7-5 at Indian Wells to keep her round-robin run alive.
Jessica Pegula Rolls Past Late Addition Marta Kostyuk
Pegula raced out of the gate, winning the first nine points and breaking at love. She needed about 30 minutes to take the opening set, committing just three unforced errors to Kostyuk’s 17.
The late tournament addition fought back in the second, but a double fault at 6-5 handed Pegula the chance to serve it out. Pegula won 76% of her first-serve points, taking advantage of Kostyuk's nine double faults to close out the win.
"Once I got off to a good start today, I definitely didn't want to give away that second set," the No. 5 seed said afterwards.
"It was a bit of an extra push to be able to give myself the best chance in this group, considering I did lose the first match."
Pegula Looks to Deepen 2026 WTA Finals Campaign
The result keeps Pegula in contention for a semifinal berth after she dropped her opener to Coco Gauff. It also marked her first win over a group opponent this season.
For Kostyuk, two straight-set losses ended her knockout hopes in her WTA Finals debut, despite beating Pegula in both of their 2026 meetings.
Pegula turns next to a Berlin Open rematch with Linda Nosková on Thursday.
