Jessica Pegula Begins Montreal Title Defense Against Resurgent Maria Sakkari
So here’s what’s happening in Montreal right now—Jessica Pegula, last year’s champion, is back to defend her title at the WTA 1000 event, and her first real test is against none other than Maria Sakkari. These two have a bit of history—Pegula leads their head-to-head 6–5, so it’s always a tight battle when they meet, and this one promises to be no different.
Pegula hasn’t had the smoothest summer so far. Things looked promising when she took the title at Bad Homburg just before Wimbledon, but then she exited early at the All England Club and followed that up with another stumble in Washington, where she was taken out by Leylah Fernandez—who went on to win the tournament. So yeah, her momentum kind of stalled, and that’s a bit surprising because Pegula is known for her steady, reliable baseline game. But now, back in Canada, where she tasted success last year, she’ll be hoping to find that rhythm again—and quickly—because she’s got a ton of ranking points to defend over the next few weeks.
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Enter Maria Sakkari. It’s been a wild ride for her this season. Earlier in the year, she was on the verge of falling out of the top 100, which is hard to believe given she was once a regular in the top 10. But in recent weeks, there’s been a noticeable uptick in her play. She’s been hitting her stride again and just came off a gritty three-set win over Canadian crowd-favorite Carson Branstine. That kind of win, in that kind of atmosphere, definitely gives a player a confidence boost.
Now, style-wise, Pegula’s going to want to dictate the points early—she’ll look to be aggressive with her forehand and come into the net to finish when she can. On the flip side, Sakkari needs to stay consistent on her serve and use her angles to move Pegula around the court. If she can keep up that level of play she showed against Branstine, this could get interesting.
Still, Pegula has the edge here—especially if she can handle the big moments well. She’s been through plenty of high-stakes matches, and with the crowd behind her and the title on the line, the expectation is that she’ll come through, likely in three sets. But with Sakkari playing looser and with nothing to lose, there’s a chance for an upset if Pegula doesn’t bring her A-game.
Either way, it’s a compelling match to kick off her title defense—and definitely one to keep an eye on.
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