The table is set for Jessica Pegula at Roland Garros

Let’s play a game with numbers.

I will write a bunch of numbers. You can guess what those numbers are or what they mean.

Ready? Go.

5.

8.

12.

15.

16.

17.

19.

21.

29.

What do those numbers refer to? They refer to all the seeded players who have already lost in the bottom half of the women’s draw before 6 p.m. Paris time on Wednesday, with the second round not yet half-completed. The bottom half of the women’s draw is already down to just FIVE seeded players: Irina Begu at 27, Anastasia Potapova at 24, Daria Kasatkina at 9, Jessica Pegula at 3, and Aryna Sabalenka at 2. That’s it.

Caroline Garcia at 5? Gone. Maria Sakkari, the 8th seed? Gone. 2017 Roland Garros champion Jelena Ostapenko, seeded 17th? Gone. That’s a dangerous threat removed. Magda Linette, the 21 seed who has been playing a lot of good tennis over the past several months? Gone.

One could accurately and reasonably say this is a great chance for Aryna Sabalenka to make a deep run in Paris, noting that she has never been past the third round here. That’s true enough, but the urgency of the moment for Sabalenka is not that pronounced, given that she has a major title this year and has Wimbledon just around the corner. She will be a strong contender at SW19. If she fails in France, it’s hardly a catastrophe for her.

On the other hand, Pegula — who has made several major quarterfinals over the past 18 months and is the World No. 3 — has not yet made a major semifinal. We’re at a point where Pegula is going to show us whether she can raise her ceiling, or if she is a quarterfinal-level player and nothing more. To be sure, being a quarterfinal-level player at big tournaments is a great achievement. Few professionals ever rise to that height. Yet, when someone reaches a certain threshold, and that threshold is not at the very zenith of one’s profession, there is a natural desire — and curiosity — to see if one can go higher.

This is Pegula’s time to see if she can rise to another level.

The almost completely seedless landscape in that bottom half of the draw gives Jessica Pegula a very special opportunity in Paris.