Jessica Pegula has revealed that Mirra Andreeva took the recent 'diva' comment in her stride, as the two prepare to face each other for the first time in their professional careers at the WTA Finals semi-finals.
The American was caught on a hot mic branding the teenager a 'diva' ahead of the tournament. The WTA was livestreaming the practice courts in Indian Wells, and Pegula was unaware the microphones were on when she made the remark to her coach, Mark Knowles.
Hot Mic Incident and Apology
“I think she's a nice girl, she's just a diva. She needs to be humbled,” the world No. 5 said of Andreeva. Pegula privately apologised to those involved, while the WTA publicly apologised and took full responsibility for broadcasting private conversations without properly informing the players.
Both women have since moved past the incident. Andreeva jokingly captioned a photo of herself and Pegula with the word “DIVAS” days after the drama, and both have advanced from the group stage into the semi-finals.
Andreeva Embraces the Label
Pegula said Andreeva handled the situation with humour and already referred to herself as a diva. “I think we've all seen that Mirra has a pretty good sense of humour with everything, so she was totally fine,” Pegula explained. “She was like, 'I'm a diva'. She said she embraces it. It was kind of funny. I was like, maybe I need a little bit more of that in myself on the court. But it was all good.”
Speaking to Tennis Channel, Pegula added: “Maybe she's turned me into a diva! I need a little bit more diva energy. She was cool about it. She was like, 'Yeah, people call me that all the time'. Like, she didn't really care. It was funny. Maybe I need a little bit of that.”
First Meeting at WTA Finals
Andreeva has been in strong form in Indian Wells, bagelling Elina Svitolina and Aryna Sabalenka in her first two matches. Pegula acknowledged the challenge ahead, praising the teenager's efficiency on court.
“She's played great. I watched her play Sabalenka. I feel like she's such an efficient player. I feel like she moves so efficiently. She's fast. I think she has a great serve. She's strong. She hits the ball pretty hard. And she's smart, so you could see how efficient she made her tennis look against Sabalenka,” the 11-time title winner said.
“But yeah, I'm going to do my best. It's crazy, we've literally only practised twice and we've never played each other, so that's kind of a weird feeling, knowing that you're playing the first time at WTA Finals. That doesn't happen very often, so I think it'll be a good match – hopefully!”
