United Cup 2023: Jessica Pegula vs Petra Kvitova Tennis Prediction

TennisSection previews the 2023 United Cup as Jessica Pegula takes on Petra Kvitova in the group stages on Friday, December 30th, 2022.

Two heavyweights of the women’s tour will collide in the United Cup as in-form American Jessica Pegula looks to give Team USA another early lead over the Czech Republic when she faces Petra Kvitova. Who do you think will come out on top?

Jessica Pegula had the best season of any American female player in 2022. She scored a career-best 42 wins on the WTA Tour and peaked at a career-high ranking of No. 3. Pegula also won her second career title and undoubtedly the biggest of her career thus far at the WTA 1000 in Guadalajara. Although her performances at the WTA Finals in Fort Worth were a tad disappointing, there is a lot to be excited about Pegula’s prospects for the upcoming season, starting with the United Cup where she is the team’s highest-ranked player. How will she fare in her opening match against the big-hitting Petra Kvitova?

For Petra Kvitova, the start of 2022 was not particularly kind. She won once in three tournaments on Australian soil and was sent packing in a shocker of a first round at the Australian Open. But she got her bearings right in the second part of the season. She excelled on the grass courts of Eastbourne where she collected her 30th Tour-level title. Kvitova nearly added another trophy in Cincinnati but came agonizingly close, finishing runner-up to the red-hot Caroline Garcia. Jessica Pegula will have a lot of work to do to accomplish half of Kvitova’s achievements, but right now the American is probably on a higher ceiling.

Petra Kvitova and Jessica Pegula have clashed three times before this, with Kvitova owning a 2-1 head-to-head record. Pegula put the brakes on the Czech at the 2022 US Open where she outclassed her in a straight-sets win. This will be their fourth meeting on hard courts – a surface that both players excel when they play on it. While there is little to separate these two, Pegula should be highly fancied to get the win. She is in her prime and has been (for a while now) the WTA’s most improving player.