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The road to “overnight success” is usually a long one.

And for 30-year-old American Jessica Pegula, it’s been winding, too.

“I’ve been so there many freaking times, and I just kept losing, but to great players, girls who went on to win the tournament. I didn’t know what else to do but to get there again and win the match. And – finally! – I can say I’m a (Grand Slam) semifinalist,” Pegula said, after a wild and fairly surprisingly routine victory against world No. 1 Iga Swiatek on Wednesday.

Pegula was a good junior who ran into injury issues early on in her transition to the pros.

Knee surgery and then – more seriously – hip surgery set her back a number of times.

It took until early 2019, just as she was turning 25, for her to finally break into the top 100.

And now, she’s in the US Open semifinal.

A long injury comeback

Pegula began the 2018 season ranked No. 621, playing back-to-back $25,000 ITFs in Florida coming from the qualifying and making the final both times – both times losing to No. 1 seed Anhelina Kalinina. She even played two $15Ks that March and, for most of the season, grinded it out on the U.S. ITF circuit.

By that September, up to No. 227, she played the now-defunct WTA tournament in Quebec City. Pegula got through the qualifying, and reached the final. She beat Ons Jabeur, Petra Martic and Sofia Kenin along the way, on a carpet court that was like a skating rink. That effort got her inside the top 150.

Emma Navarro – a complete tennis makeover

And by the end of 2018, the American was ranked No. 112 and so close to that “tennis glass ceiling” that flummoxes so many players who get close to it, but can’t quite make that epic step..

Pegula didn’t go to Australia for the qualifying in early 2019; rather, she played higher-level ITF/Challenger events in the U.S. and by the time she reached the final at the $100K tournament in Midland, Michigan, had all but nailed down the “Challenger wild card” that would earn her a spot in the main draw at the BNP Paribas Open.

That Midland result also got her into the top 100 for the first time.

Exclusive Pegula Interview – time flies

Open Court spoke to her at Indian Wells, where she generously gave us the time to ask anything we wanted.

We spoke about the journey back from surgeries, about belief, about attitude and perseverence.

And, just as pertinent today, Pegula spoke at length about the blessings that having a wealthy family bring, the privilege that comes with it, and some of the challenges in a universe where so many are envious of so many.

With all the talk of the backgrounds of some of the American semifinalists this week, it’s an interesting look behind that curtain. And it’s worth noting that Pegula didn’t even have the perspective then that she’ll have now. But she still had pretty great perspective.

Here it is.