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Fresh off her ATX Open title, Jessica Pegula kicked off her BNP Paribas Open run with a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Poland’s Magda Linette on Friday at Indian Wells’ Stadium 1. Battling cool, windy conditions, the No. 4 seed notched her sixth straight win of 2025—her first title came last week in Austin—and hit a milestone 80th WTA 1000 victory in just 1 hour and 15 minutes. She’s now 3-0 lifetime against Linette.
“It wasn’t pretty,” Pegula admitted, chalking it up to the elements. “I took it as a challenge. I handled the windy side well, used it to boost my serve, and gutted out tough points against the gusts. A few key moments, especially in the first set, made the difference.”
Pegula’s mastery over Linette held firm—she’s never dropped a set to the Polish No. 2. Linette briefly led once, but her 37 unforced errors (against 12 winners) showed her struggle in the wind. The first set tied twice, with Linette clawing back from 3-1 down, only for Pegula to edge ahead. In the second, Pegula reeled off five games straight after Linette staved off two break points to hold early. The Pole clung on with a deuce hold in the seventh, but Pegula sealed it with a clean love game, advancing to face China’s Wang Xinyu—who stunned No. 26 seed Jelena Ostapenko—in Round 3.
This run marks Pegula’s longest winning streak since her six-match tear to the 2024 US Open final. After crashing out in her 2024 Indian Wells opener to Anna Blinkova, she’s guaranteed ranking points this time. Though hard courts suit her, Pegula’s only quarterfinal here came in 2021; her main-draw record now sits at 7-6.
Next up, a twist: Wang holds a 2-0 edge over Pegula, with upsets at Wimbledon and Wuhan in 2024. After dominating a familiar foe, Pegula now faces a rare nemesis.
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