Jessica Pegula has been making headlines this fortnight by shattering expectations and dispelling myths. At 30 years old, the New York native and No. 6 seed has reached her first Grand Slam final, where she’ll compete against Aryna Sabalenka.
Despite being the daughter of billionaire Terry Pegula, owner of the Buffalo Bills and the Sabres, Jessica has addressed some “crazy” misconceptions about her lifestyle. She noted that people assume she lives a life of luxury with a butler, chauffeur, and private flights, which she finds amusing and a bit annoying, saying, “A butler?! It’s a little annoying, but honestly I just think it’s kind of funny.”
Jessica’s parents came from modest beginnings. Her father, Terry, started with just $7,500 from friends and family after losing his job, eventually building a natural gas drilling company worth billions. Her mother, Kim, was adopted from Seoul as a baby through a program for children displaced by the Korean War.
While Jessica’s family wealth undoubtedly provides support, tennis remains an expensive sport, especially for aspiring professionals. Pegula’s early career was marked by struggles outside the top 100, and it’s hard to imagine she could have persisted without financial backing. However, after nearly a decade of hard work, she broke into the top 100 in January 2019 and has experienced a rapid rise since.
The Grand Slams have been challenging for her, with five previous quarter-final exits. But Pegula has made a breakthrough at this tournament in her home state. Her semi-final match against Karolina Muchova started as a rout but turned into a high-level contest. After losing the first set and facing a possible double break in the second, Pegula managed to recover and win 1-6, 6-4, 6-2, securing her spot in the final against Sabalenka.
This final features two of the best hard-court players in the world. Pegula has been in impressive form, winning 13 of her last 14 matches, including Toronto, and losing only to Sabalenka in Cincinnati. Sabalenka, the Australian Open champion, has been playing with powerful tennis, boasting an average forehand speed surpassing that of the top three men’s players: Sinner, Djokovic, and Alcaraz.
Sabalenka has previously reached the semis in 2021 and 2022 and narrowly lost last year’s final to Coco Gauff. She attributes last year’s defeat to struggling with the crowd’s support for Gauff, a challenge she’ll face again. However, having played and won against American Emma Navarro in the semis, Sabalenka feels more prepared this year. “Last year it was a very tough experience, very tough lesson,” she said. “Today in the match, I was, like, ‘No, no, no, Aryna, it’s not going to happen again.’”
