Jessika Ponchet (born 26 September 1996) is a French professional tennis player. She has career-high WTA rankings of world No. 104 in singles, achieved on 9 September 2024, and No. 101 in doubles, reached on 28 November 2022.
Career Ponchet did not play any ITF Junior Circuit tournaments, plunging straight into the ITF Women's Circuit at the age of 14.
2011–2013 Ponchet played the singles events of four tournaments and the doubles event of one tournament on the 2011 ITF Circuit, starting with a $100k tournament held in early July in the French city of Biarritz. She played a total of 11 and 18 ITF tournaments in 2012 and 2013, respectively.
2014–2016 Ponchet played a total of 17 tournaments on the ITF Circuit in 2014. She suffered a major setback when torn knee ligaments forced her to miss tournaments in the first eight months of 2015. She played the singles events of seven tournaments and one doubles event on the 2015 ITF Circuit.
In 2016, Ponchet played a total of 22 tournaments on the ITF Circuit in the 2016 season.
2017: WTA 125 debut She made her major debut in the French Open qualifying, after having been handed a wildcard; however, after defeating Dalma Gálfi (the 2015 ITF World Champion in the girls' combined category), she lost to fourth seed, Richèl Hogenkamp, in the second round.
Ponchet made her WTA 125 debut at the Open de Limoges, entering only its singles event. She received a wildcard for the main draw, where she defeated her compatriot, Chloé Paquet, in the first round and lost to the No. 7 seed, Kaia Kanepi, in the second.
Ponchet finished 2017 with a final win–loss record of 42–24 for singles matches.
2018–2019: Major debut She made her major main-draw debut in singles at the Australian Open, after receiving a wildcard, but she lost in the first round to third seed Garbiñe Muguruza. Prior to the Australian Open, Ponchet had in her entire career played in the singles main-draw event of just one tournament that was at a higher level than the ITF Women's Circuit (the 2017 Open de Limoges) and had never even faced a player ranked in the top 100 of the WTA singles rankings.
Ponchet made her French Open debut, after receiving a wildcard for the singles main draw, where she lost in the first round to the unseeded Lucie Šafářová, in straight sets.
At the 2019 Australian Open, Ponchet reached the singles main draw where she lost in the first round to 19th-seeded Caroline Garcia, after winning all her three qualifying matches without dropping a set.
On 9 April 2019, in her first-round match at the $25k tournament in Sunderland, Ponchet was leading Tara Moore 6–0, 5–0 and had a match point to achieve a double bagel, but Moore staged a comeback to win 0–6, 7–6, 6–3.
2023: First WTA 125 doubles title Ponchet received wildcards for the French Open for the singles main draw, and in doubles partnering Elixane Lechemia. She entered the Guangzhou Open main draw as a lucky loser but lost to qualifier Moyuka Uchijima.
Partnering Maia Lumsden, Ponchet won her first WTA 125 doubles title at the Open de Rouen, defeating top seeds Anna Bondár and Kimberley Zimmermann in straight sets in the final.
2024: US Open third round Ponchet qualified for the Rosmalen Open but lost to Aleksandra Krunić in the first round. Ranked No. 143, Ponchet made her singles main-draw debut at the US Open, after winning all three of her qualifying matches in straight sets. She then defeated Zheng Saisai in the first round for her first match win at a major. She reached a Grand Slam tournament third round for the first time, after receiving a walkover in the second when fourth seed Elena Rybakina withdrew because of injury. As a result, she moved close to 40 positions up in the WTA rankings to a new career-high at No. 104 on 9 September 2024.In the third round, she lost to Caroline Wozniacki in straight sets.
After entering the singles main draw of the Japan Women's Open as a lucky loser, she failed to convert a match point in the third set in her first round loss to eighth seed Elisabetta Cocciaretto. In the first round of the Hong Kong Open, the unseeded Ponchet posted her second career top-50 win by defeating fourth seed Wang Xinyu to reach the second round, before losing to wildcard entrant Sofia Kenin.
2025: First two WTA Tour quarterfinals Gaining entry to the main-draw as a lucky loser, Ponchet defeated qualifiers Margaux Rouvroy and Fiona Ferro to reach her first WTA Tour quarterfinal at the Rouen Open, where she lost to Elena-Gabriela Ruse.
Once again entering the main draw as a lucky loser at the Prague Open, she made it through to the quarterfinals with wins over fellow lucky loser Nina Stojanović and wildcard entrant Barbora Palicová. Ponchet lost to Tereza Valentová in the last eight.
In December, teaming up with Tamara Korpatsch, Ponchet won her second WTA 125 doubles title at the Open Angers Arena Loire, defeating Jesika Malečková and Miriam Škoch in the final. The following week at the Open de Limoges, she combined with fellow French player Elsa Jacquemot to reach the doubles final, but they lost to top seeds Cristina Bucșa and Zhang Shuai.
Performance timelines
Singles Current through the 2024 US Open. Tournament2017201820192020202120222023202420252026SRW–LGrand Slam tournaments Australian OpenA1R1RQ1AQ1Q2Q2Q1Q10 / 20–2 French OpenQ21R1RQ1AQ21R1RQ1Q20 / 40–4 WimbledonAAQ2NHQ1Q3Q1Q1Q1Q10 / 00–0 US OpenAQ1Q1AQ1Q1Q13RQ20 / 12–1Win–loss0–00–20–20–00–00–00–12–20–00–00 / 72–7Career statisticsTournaments02200112Career total: 7Overall win-loss0–00–20–20–00–00–10–12–20 / 72–7
WTA 125 finals Doubles: 6 (2 titles, 4 runner-ups) ResultW–LDateTournamentSurfacePartnerOpponentsScoreLoss0–1Newport Beach Challenger, United StatesHard Marie Benoît Hayley Carter Luisa Stefani1–6, 3–6Loss0–2Open de Limoges, FranceHard (i) Estelle Cascino Monica Niculescu Vera Zvonareva4–6, 4–6Loss0–3Open de Saint-Malo, FranceClay Estelle Cascino Eri Hozumi Makoto Ninomiya6–7(1–7), 1–6Win1–3Open de Rouen, FranceHard (i) Maia Lumsden Anna Bondár Kimberley Zimmermann6–3, 7–6(7–4)Win2–3Open Angers, FranceHard (i) Tamara Korpatsch Jesika Malečková Miriam Škoch6–3, 6–2Loss2–4Open de Limoges, FranceHard (i) Elsa Jacquemot Cristina Bucșa Zhang Shuai3–6, 1–6
ITF Circuit finals Singles: 19 (10 titles, 9 runner-ups) LegendW100 tournaments (0–2)W80 tournaments (1–0)W60/75 tournaments (1–1)W40 tournaments (1–0)W25 tournaments (4–3)W10 tournaments (3–3)Finals by surfaceHard (7–7)Clay (3–1)Grass (0–1)
ResultW–LDateTournamentTierSurfaceOpponentScoreLoss 0–1 Oct 2015ITF Port El Kantaoui, TunisiaW10 Hard Valeriya Strakhova 2–6, 3–6Loss 0–2 May 2016ITF Monzón, SpainW10 Hard Marie Bouzková 4–6, 4–6Win 1–2 Jul 2016ITF Getxo, SpainW10 Clay Ioana Loredana Roșca 4–6, 6–2, 6–1Win 2–2 Jul 2016ITF El Espinar, SpainW10 Hard Rocío de la Torre Sánchez 6–4, 6–2Loss 2–3 Nov 2016ITF Vinaròs, SpainW10 Clay Andrea Gamiz 6–1, 1–6, 4–6Win 3–3 Nov 2016ITF Benicarló, SpainW10 Clay Amanda Carreras 6–0, 7–6(6)Win 4–3 Jul 2018ITF Figueira da Foz, PortugalW25 Hard Eva Guerrero Álvarez 7–6(4), 6–2Win 5–3 Feb 2019GB Pro-Series Glasgow, UKW25 Hard (i) Mariam Bolkvadze 6–3, 6–1Loss 5–4 Mar 2020ITF Mâcon, FranceW25 Hard (i) Océane Dodin 6–3, 1–6, 3–6Loss 5–5 Jun 2021ITF Figueira da Foz, PortugalW25 Hard Tessah Andrianjafitrimo 7–6(3), 1–6, 0–6Win 6–5 Sep 2021ITF Leiria, Portugal W25 Hard Anastasia Kulikova 7–6(3), 6–0Loss 6–6 Jul 2022ITF Palma del Río, SpainW25+H Hard Marina Bassols Ribera 7–5, 4–6, 3–6Win 7–6 Jul 2022Open Araba en Femenino, SpainW60 Hard Jenny Dürst 6–4, 7–5Win 8–6 Sep 2022ITF Saint-Palais-sur-Mer, FranceW25 Clay Séléna Janicijevic 6–1, 6–4Win 9–6 Feb 2023ITF Mâcon, France W40 Hard (i) Yanina Wickmayer 6–3, 2–6, 6–4Loss 9–7 Open Araba en Femenino, SpainW100 Hard Daria Snigur 6–3, 4–6, 1–6Win 10–7 Oct 2023Internationaux de Poitiers, FranceW80 Hard (i) Anna-Lena Friedsam 3–6, 6–3, 7–6(2)Loss 10–8 Jan 2024Open Andrézieux-Bouthéon, FranceW75 Hard (i) Lily Miyazaki 6–3, 4–6, 1–6Loss 10–9 Jun 2024Ilkley Trophy, United Kingdom100,000 Grass Rebecca Marino 6–4, 1–6, 4–6
Doubles: 26 (14 titles, 12 runner-ups) LegendW100 tournaments (1–1)W80 tournaments (1–1)W60/75 tournaments (7–4)W25 tournaments (2–3)W10/15 tournaments (3–3)Finals by surfaceHard (10–9)Clay (4–2)Carpet (0–1)
ResultW–LDateTournamentTierSurfacePartnerOpponentsScoreWin 1–0 Mar 2014ITF Gonesse, FranceW10 Clay (i) Karolína Stuchlá Carolin Daniels Lena-Marie Hofmann 6–7(4), 6–3, [10–3]Win 2–0 Jun 2016ITF Madrid, SpainW10 Clay Marina Shamayko Ainhoa Atucha Gómez María José Luque Moreno 6–2, 6–3Loss 2–1 Jul 2016ITF Getxo, SpainW10 Clay Carla Lucero Oleksandra Korashvili Ioana Loredana Roșca 0–6, 3–6Loss 2–2 Jul 2016ITF El Espinar, SpainW10 Hard Ioana Loredana Roșca Charlotte Roemer Sarah-Rebecca Sekulic 2–6, 6–7(4)Win 3–2 Dec 2016ITF Castellón de la Plana, SpainW10 Clay Laura Pigossi Arabela Fernández Rabener Isabelle Wallace 6–1, 6–3Loss 3–3 Apr 2017ITF Hammamet, TunisiaW15 Clay Manon Arcangioli Gabriela Cé Andrea Gamiz 1–6, 2–6Loss 3–4 Apr 2018ITF Óbidos, PortugalW25 Carpet Ganna Poznikhirenko Sarah Beth Grey Olivia Nicholls 2–6, 1–6Loss 3–5 Jul 2018ITF Figueira da Foz, PortugalW25 Hard Sviatlana Pirazhenka Yvonne Cavallé Reimers Andrea Gamiz 2–6, 5–7Win 4–5 May 2019ITF Les Franqueses del Vallès, SpainW60 Hard Eden Silva Jodie Burrage Olivia Nicholls 6–3, 6–4Win 5–5 Aug 2019Lexington Challenger, United StatesW60 Hard Robin Anderson Ann Li Jamie Loeb 7–6(4), 6–7(5), [10–7]Win 6–5 Sep 2019Caldas da Rainha Open, PortugalW60 Hard Isabella Shinikova Anna Danilina Vivian Heisen 6–1, 6–3Win 7–5 Nov 2019Toronto Challenger, CanadaW60 Hard (i) Robin Anderson Mélodie Collard Leylah Fernandez 7–6(7), 6–2Win 8–5 Oct 2020ITF Cherbourg-en-Cotentin, FranceW25 Hard (i) Robin Anderson Harriet Dart Sarah Beth Grey 4–6, 6–4, [10–8]Win 9–5 May 2021Open Saint-Gaudens, France W60 Clay Estelle Cascino Eden Silva Kimberley Zimmermann 0–6, 7–5, [10–7]Win 10–5 Nov 2021Open Nantes, FranceW60 Hard (i) Samantha Murray Sharan Alicia Barnett Olivia Nicholls 6–4, 6–2Win 11–5 Jan 2022Open Andrézieux-Bouthéon, FranceW60 Hard (i) Estelle Cascino Alicia Barnett Olivia Nicholls 6–4, 6–1Loss 11–6 Apr 2022ITF Calvi, France W25+H Hard Estelle Cascino Sofya Lansere Valeriya Strakhova 4–6, 6–7(5)Win 12–6 Apr 2022ITF Monastir, TunisiaW25 Hard Estelle Cascino Polina Kudermetova Sofya Lansere 6–0, 4–6, [10–7]Loss 12–7 Oct 2022Internationaux de Poitiers, FranceW80 Hard (i) Renata Voráčová Miriam Kolodziejová Markéta Vondroušová 4–6, 3–6Loss 12–8 GB Pro-Series Shrewsbury, UKW100 Hard (i) Renata Voráčová Miriam Kolodziejová Markéta Vondroušová 6–7(4), 2–6Win 13–8 Sep 2023ITF Tokyo Open, JapanW100 Hard Bibiane Schoofs Alicia Barnett Olivia Nicholls 4–6, 6–1, [10–7]Win 14–8 Oct 2023Internationaux de Poitiers, FranceW80 Hard (i) Bibiane Schoofs Ekaterina Maklakova Elena Pridankina 7–5, 6–4Loss 14–9 Open de Seine-et-Marne, FranceW75 Hard (i) Maia Lumsden Estelle Cascino Alex Eala 5–7, 6–7(4)Loss 14–10 Mar 2025Trnava Indoor, SlovakiaW75 Hard (i) Magali Kempen Isabelle Haverlag Elena Pridankina 2–6, 3–6Loss 14–11 Mar 2025Branik Maribor Open, SloveniaW75 Hard (i) Lily Miyazaki Julie Belgraver Urszula Radwańska 1–6, 4–6Loss 14–12 Mar 2026Branik Maribor Open, SloveniaW75 Hard (i) Anna Sisková Anna-Lena Friedsam Gabriela Knutson 6–4, 4–6, [6–10]
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