‘This is cinema’: Jessica Pegula finds the humor amid Cancun rain and wind chaos 

Sometimes all you can do is laugh—and Jessica Pegula is certainly seeing the funny side, after having to play through gale-force winds at the weather-affected WTA Finals in Cancun.

Friday’s doubles match between No. 1 seeds Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula and No. 6 seeds Laura Siegemund and Vera Zvonareva was one of several matches where weather played a factor, as the season-ending tournament is being held on a temporary outdoor court without a roof.

The last match of Group Mahahual was interrupted several times due to rain, before they finally called it a night after the start of the second set with Pegula and Gauff leading 6-3, 1-1.

While the rain forced them to stop playing, it was the wind that wreaked havoc the most—affecting ball tosses, blowing loose items around the court and absolutely shredding the tournament’s signature black and white umbrellas.

In one moment that seemed to sum up the whole night, a let had to be called after a gust of wind during Pegula’s serve not only blew the Buffalo native’s visor clean off her head, but also sent trash cans flying onto the court and toppled potted plants near the players chairs.

“This is cinema,” one Pegula fan commented on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.

But it gets even more absurd than that, as Pegula herself took to X in search of the funniest clip of the night:

“Does someone have the first or 2nd rain delay where both of our umbrellas broke lol,” the No. 5 seed asked in response.

Of course, Tennis Channel was on the case and produced the ridiculous sequence which saw first Gauff and then Pegula’s umbrellas succumb to the relentless gusts. In a hilarious contrast, the cameras then cut to their opponents, Zvonareva and Siegemund, who were comfortably sitting under their own intact umbrellas.

Unfortunately for Pegula—and the rest of the WTA Finals competitors—the weather in Cancun will likely not improve on Saturday either, with rain and thunderstorms once again in the forecast during the singles and doubles semifinals.

But should the weather hold, the American will have plenty of tennis in store. No. 5 seed Pegula will take on No. 3 seed Gauff in the first singles semifinal, and then the pair will team up again later in the evening to complete their doubles match against Siegemund and Zvonareva.