Jessica Pegula eyes Olympic hardware in Paris with Coco Gauff in doubles

Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula are eyeing the Olympic podium at Paris 2024 next year - in both singles and doubles.

Gauff and Pegula are ranked third and fifth, respectively, in singles, but are also one of the best doubles teams in the world. Pegula said the duo has big goals for the coming Olympic Summer Games.

"Hopefully we can play the Olympics next year. I know it was a goal that she really wanted to get a medal there... and for me, too," Pegula told Forbes in an extensive interview after being named one of the publication's "30 Under 30" sports stars.

The Americans have won five WTA doubles titles together and reached the final at Roland-Garros in 2022, the clay venue set to host Olympic tennis in Paris. Gauff and Pegula look to be a solid lock for the U.S. Olympic Team, with three singles spots on the squad. (Madison Keys is the next highest American at world No.12.)

"It's been a really fun journey that both of us have been on," Pegula said of her partnership with Gauff. "She's done all of this so young and me being a late bloomer... it's very different. But I think we've gotten to learn from each other at the same time. It's been really cool to see what she's done."

Gauff captured the 2023 US Open title to become the first American teen to claim their home major since Serena Williams in 1999.

Can Jessica Pegula level up in 2024? 'Definitely.'

There's a ten-year age gap between Gauff, 19, and the 29-year-old Pegula, who didn't break into the top 100 in the world until she was 25.

Pegula called her run to the 2021 Australian Open quarter-finals "a breakthrough," but that her rise into the world's top five - especially being an American - has come with a myriad of responsibilities and off-court asks.

"It's been a hard act to balance," she says. "I look at it as part of my career to help grow tennis."

Pegula has now made six major quarter-finals, including two in 2023, and has won four singles titles. Can she climb higher in 2024? 

"Definitely, I think so," she said. "I've proved that the last few years [that I can]. Why not keeping on improving?"

While Pegula says no one "can fill Serena's shoes" after the tennis legend retired in September of 2022, the Buffalo, New York, native said she puts herself in the conversation with the best in the world: "Why not me" is a favourite mantra, she said.

Pegula said she and Gauff have formed a strong bond on and off the court... even if she's often made fun of by Coco for not knowing the latest TikTok trends.

"She's very Gen Z," Pegula laughed of Gauff, before adding: "We have a lot of fun playing doubles, even if we're playing [against each other] in singles."

"It's been really cool to see everyone interested not just in our singles but in us as a team," she added, highlighting the duo's doubles matches at this year's US Open were "packed."