Though the WTA Finals is still days away, Jessica Pegula‘s build-up to the tournament has already suffered a hit. After having another solid season, she qualified for the year-end tournament that is set to begin in California from November 8. But while the other players have already reached there and begun practicing, Pegula’s trip got delayed due to the bizarre actions of United Airlines.

Turns out that the airline first cancelled Pegula’s flight and asked the passengers to claim their baggage. However, they then reinstated the flight all of a sudden and departed with the American’s luggage still on board. As a result, Pegula had to spend a lot of time at the airport as the United Airlines staff tried to find a solution. She later called out the airline for the mishap.

“@united explain to me how you cancelled our flight,” she wrote on X. “You tell us to go to baggage claim and then uncancel the flight and take off with our bags. We also sat on the plane for 2+ hours in a torrential downpour when everyone else went back to the gate. Then baggage services had 0 clue what was happening and kept saying they would pull our bags. Meanwhile, the flight took off. Craziest thing I’ve ever seen.”

This post didn’t go unnoticed, and United Airlines soon replied to Pegula. They apologized for the whole ordeal and offered their help to her.

“We understand that travel doesn’t always go as planned, and we’re sorry for the frustration, Jessie,” the airline’s official handle replied. “Please DM us your confirmation number so we can assist.”

Pegula will arrive at the WTA Finals having not competed since the Wuhan Open, which took place over two weeks ago. She withdrew from the majority of the Asian events due to physical fatigue after a demanding North American swing. The Wuhan Open was the only tournament Pegula played in the Asian swing, and that didn’t quite go to plan either, as she was defeated 2-6, 7-6, 6-3 by Jelena Ostapenko in the opening round.

Despite the disappointing result in Wuhan, Pegula has had several strong campaigns in 2026. She has an impressive win-loss record of 50-14 this season and is ranked No. 5. She also stands fifth in the race to the WTA Finals with 5,760 points and has qualified comfortably. Coco Gauff is the other American player who has secured a place in the year-end tournament.

Coming back, this isn’t the first time that United Airlines has been scrutinized by a tennis player this year. Anastasia Potapova called out one of their crew members on social media for their extremely rude behavior during a flight.

Anastasia Potapova was treated poorly by the crew at United Airlines

The incident happened in late August when Potapova was flying from Houston to New York for the US Open. She was accompanied by her dog Bula, and this soon became a problem. The Austrian claimed that a crew member named Mary behaved very rudely towards her and her dog.

“I have never done anything like this before, but right now I simply cannot stay silent,” she had written in an Instagram story. “As a professional athlete, I travel extensively all over the world, but this is the first time I have ever experienced this level of disrespect, rudeness, and, to some extent, discrimination.

“She was extremely rude both to me personally and in the way she treated my dog. She also repeatedly brought up my status and threatened to remove me from the flight because of it. Her name is Mary. I truly hope that your airline will look into this situation and take it seriously, because no passenger – and no animal – deserves to be treated in such a humiliating and disrespectful way, especially by a member of the cabin crew.”

One or two more such incidents can result in United Airlines developing a bad rapport, especially among tennis players. The airline has now been criticized by two well-known WTA players in the span of a little over two months. Next time, players may as well think twice before choosing to fly with United.