By the numbers: Pegula extends winning streak with comeback win over Vekic
Fifth seed Jessica Pegula of the United States kicked off her campaign at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells on Saturday with a three-set win over Croatia's Donna Vekic. She will next meet former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia for a place in the round of 16.
Pegula had won both previous meetings between the two - both of which came on grass - in straight sets. But Vekic, ranked No. 103 on the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz, ended that streak by claiming the first set 6-4. Pegula did not let that trouble her as she fought back to take the next two sets 6-2, 6-3 to complete the win in 1 hour, 55 minutes.
On the runnnnn 🏃♀️@JPegula | #TennisParadise pic.twitter.com/yV1oXRjJs8
— wta (@WTA) March 8, 2026
Here are some key numbers from Pegula's win:
0: Vekic is now 0-5 in three-set matches this year. The streak includes losses to Alex Eala (Auckland), Mirra Andreeva (Australian Open), Camila Osorio (Manila), Elisabetta Cocciaretto (Dubai) and now Pegula (Indian Wells). In all five matches, she won the first set but went on to eventually lose.
5: The number of times Pegula and Ostapenko have met so far on the WTA Tour. The American leads the head-to-head 3-2 (2-1 on hard courts). The 26th-seeded Latvian, who defeated American wildcard Kate Volynets 6-4, 7-6 in the second round, won their most recent clash in Beijing in 2023.
6: Pegula is now on a six-match winning streak after winning the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships last month. That was her 10th career singles title on the WTA Tour and her fourth at the WTA 1000 level.
7: The number of break points both players earned during the match. Pegula converted five of her seven break opportunities, while Vekic converted only two.
8: Pegula has reached at least the semifinals in her last seven consecutive WTA-level events, starting from the US Open 2025 through Dubai 2026. That makes her the first player to achieve that since Poland's Agnieszka Radwanska, who did the same from Beijing 2015 through Indian Wells 2016. If Pegula reaches the last four this fortnight, she will become the first player to reach the semifinals at eight consecutive WTA-level events since Maria Sharapova, who did so from Beijing 2012 through Madrid 2013.