Andy Roddick shares previously unknown intel on Jessica Pegula's injury

Ever since Jessica Pegula turned what she called "Dirty 30," she has dealt with setbacks. Pegula started her career riddled with injuries but played a lot of tennis in the past three to four years without incident. In February, Pegula dealt with a neck injury that kept her out of the Middle Eastern hardcourt swing in Doha and Dubai.

Pegula was getting back on track and helped the US women defeat Belgium in their Billie Jean King Cup qualifier matches in April. After that, she went home to train for the European clay court season only to suffer another injury in practice.

We have not seen Pegula since. She has communicated with fans over social media about the practice injury but never disclosed what it was. Pegula skipped the European clay court season though admits she is feeling healthier now but resuming training at a slow albeit cautious pace. At this point, she is doubtful for the French Open beginning later this month.

Andy Roddick was talking about Jessica Pegula's season

Andy Roddick is well-connected and well-informed on what is happening with US tennis players. He has also worked informally with Coco Gauff, Jessica Pegula, and their coaches within the past year. During a discussion about Pegula's clay court season, he shared his opinion that she should shut it down for the clay and focus on grass because her career successes have been more plentiful on grass.

Tracy Austin was in that Pegula discussion on the Tennis Channel. She admitted that she is excited to see Pegula on the court again because she loves watching her game. Austin also said that she did not know what Pegula's injury was.

That's when Roddick dropped two interesting tidbits. The first was that he exchanged recent text messages with Pegula. The second tidbit was that she was dealing with a rib injury.

Everything makes sense now. A rib injury is difficult to heal for tennis players. Because they torque their bodies in the serving motion and to hit ground strokes, it is one that requires extensive rest off the court. That explains why Pegula is slowly getting back to her training at what she called a "snail's pace."

What we do not know (perhaps Roddick does and did not share) is Pegula's preparation plans for the Olympics which are on the European red clay. In a normal year, she could skip the clay court season and resume it in 2025, but this year, the Paris Olympics are at Roland Garros so she will not be able to avoid clay courts completely this year if she plans to play in the Olympics.

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