USA's Jessica Pegula discusses Kazakhstan and what it means to play in the team format

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Transcript

00:00Jessica, welcome to Shenzhen. How are you doing? How's the preparation going?

00:03Yeah, preparation has been good so far. You know, I just got in, you know, pretty recently,

00:08so I'm just trying to adjust to the time zone, a little bit of jet lag.

00:12You know, traveled quite a far way, but nothing I'm not used to. So excited to kind of get a

00:18feel for the courts and the conditions and everything.

00:20And what's the most rewarding thing personally or professionally about playing

00:23for your country in the Billie Jean King Cup finals?

00:25I would say the most rewarding thing for me is just representing my country and playing on a team.

00:31I think it's such a different aspect than what we're used to playing all year individually. So

00:36I always really cherish kind of these weeks where it's a totally different environment. It's a

00:40totally different vibe. You know, you're still out there competing in the same way, but I think

00:45you get to share it with a lot more people. And I think it makes it so much more exciting when you

00:50win. And is the Billie Jean King Cup the kind of high pressure environment you like to play in?

00:55Does it fire you up?

00:57Yeah, I mean, playing in Billie Jean King Cup is a really fun environment. It's super competitive.

01:02Again, you feel like you're playing for something so much bigger and so much more.

01:06And in a sense, it's a lot of pressure. But at the same time, it's not because you feel like you

01:09have so many people behind you. And again, you're playing for something bigger. So I think you get

01:15even more fired up to want to win and represent.

01:18And tell us a little bit about Kazakhstan, your quarterfinal opponents.

01:22Kazakhstan's a really tough team. I mean, they have Rabakina and Putin Seva. Everyone on the team

01:29knows them very well. They've been playing some really good tennis too. You know, Rabakina with

01:33her big serve is always really tough. And Putin Seva, I always think, plays really well in this

01:38format. She also gets very competitive and fired up. So we know them very well, you know,

01:43vice versa too. So it's going to be a really tough first matchup. But we're, you know, ready to get out

01:49there and compete. And what's the environment like with the team? I know you just arrived.

01:53Yeah, I mean, I, the environment so far has been good. I, you know, we all know each other very

01:58well. We've, at some point, probably played with each other in this kind of environment,

02:02besides maybe McCartney, where it's her first time. But, you know, she played college tennis,

02:06so I'm sure it's not much different. But the vibe has been fun. I think we're all pretty relaxed,

02:10really goofy. You know, like to mess around, joke a lot, give each other crap. So it's been fun so far.

02:17What's the thing you like most about the Billie Jean King Cup weeks?

02:21I would say the thing I like most about these weeks is just mixing it up. Like,

02:26I love playing in a team environment. I love playing with, with these girls and other Americans.

02:30And we all get along so well that it makes these weeks even more fun, especially when we can go

02:35out there and get some wins and go out there and compete with each other. It feels like you're

02:39playing for something more. But, you know, you know, you have a group of really good girls behind

02:43you, win or lose. And I think that's, you know, a big difference.