Aryna Sabalenka made headlines when she called out the ‘insane’ nature of the WTA Tour schedule at the Brisbane International.
The world number one is not happy about the amount of mandatory tournaments on the calendar and she even suggested that she would risk a sanction by skipping them.
The schedule has been criticised on both the ATP and WTA Tour throughout the past year, with players blaming the calendar for the number of high-profile injuries in tennis.
As the debate rumbles on, world number six Jessica Pegula has revealed her honest thoughts on the matter.
Jessica Pegula says the WTA Tour off-season is ‘not long enough’
Pegula appeared on The Changeover Podcast and was asked if the WTA Tour off-season between the end of November and the end of December was too short.
“Yeah, there’s definitely not a long enough off-season. And I think the two-week events have really kind of exacerbated it a little bit because before Slams used to be two weeks, and that was a lot.”
Many Masters tournaments, such as the Shanghai Masters and the Cincinnati Open were extended in 2025, which drew criticism from players.
“It’s a lot going on, and now we’re going into these big 1000s, and now they’re also two weeks,” Pegula added. “So you’re going two weeks, two weeks, and then into a slam two weeks. Mentally, it’s it’s really tough.
“You kind of like hit your threshold, and I felt like ‘This is a lot’ because you just, it’s like Groundhog Day.”
Pegula said the constant nature of the WTA Tour always feels like you’re missing out when you pick up an injury.
“It just keeps going and you never quite get a chance to enjoy, get healthy, train, you always feel like you’re missing out.
“If you get hurt or if you do want to sacrifice a couple of tournaments because you want a training block or you’re run down, you see everybody playing and getting points and playing tournaments, and you feel guilty.
“You feel like you’re missing out, like you should be playing those, and it’s hard. Like it’s it’s really hard. So, I think No, it’s not long enough. And I think the two-week events have made it worse.”
Jessica Pegula felt ‘guilty’ when watching the ATP Finals and Davis Cup
The WTA Tour ended several weeks before the ATP Tour, with the men playing the ATP Finals and the Davis Cup before the culmination of the season.
Pegula said she was watching the likes of Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner with guilt while she was enjoying her off-season.
“Like with American football, when football season starts, everyone’s so fired up because it’s not on all the time, you know? I think I feel like we never stop playing. It’s wild.
“Like the men, especially, I mean the men, they were like, I don’t know where I was. I was done, and they’re playing ATP Finals, they’re playing Davis Cup, and I saw it on TV.
“I was like what like ‘What is going on? Like this is crazy. They’re still playing, and I ended my season at the end of November, last week of November, and I’m not going to play until the end of January.”
Pegula returned to action at the Brisbane International, where she lost to Marta Kostyuk in the semi-final.
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