Jessica Pegula has been backed to deal with the pressure at the by her mum Kim, as the world’s wealthiest tennis player sets her sights on her maiden Grand Slam title. The Buffalo-born star is one of the favourites to go all the way Down Under after beating Maya Joint in her first round game on Monday.
The world number seven has never been better positioned to clinch a major, having previously made it to the quarter-finals three times in Australia and reached her first Grand Slam final at the last year. The 30-year-old was probably unfazed about the prize money on offer at Flushing Meadows on account of her billionaire father Terry, an oil and gas tycoon who owns the Buffalo Bills NFL team.
However, despite being depicted as having had an easy path in life, Pegula’s tennis career has proven otherwise. Even though she stands to inherit a significant portion of her father’s staggering £6.2billion fortune, has shown the kind of tenacity and determination to reach the top that one would expect from some of the most financially disadvantaged players on the tour.
In her first decade in the sport, Pegula had only one Grand Slam tournament victory to her name and spent several extended periods out due to injury. It would have been understandable if she had chosen an easier career path, but she persevered through the pain to achieve success.
Kim Pegula, the mother of a flourishing tennis star, told ESPN that her daughter’s relentless pursuit of tennis success shocked her at first. She said: “I remember thinking, ‘Why would she want to keep doing this? There are other women whose families are relying on them through tennis but she doesn’t have that worry.
“She doesn’t have to do this and her life would be so much easier if she didn’t [play]. But it’s because she loves this sport and she’s truly doing it for herself.”
Jessica Pegula finished runner-up at the US Open (Image: Getty)
The dedicated athlete’s hard work paid off eventually with her second Grand Slam match win at 26 years old. Following this achievement, she consistently found herself in tournament quarter-finals, notably defeating then World No.1 en route to a US Open final appearance.
Reflecting on her ascent, Pegula said: “I’ve always thought I had the game,” and pointed out the mental aspect by adding: “But there’s a difference between thinking it and then actually doing it and executing it on a bigger stage. So being able to get through that mental hurdle gave me more and more confidence, and now I’ve reached like, ‘The next level.’
“But I’ve always known I could get there. And then there’s always another level, so it’s always right back to making it the next challenge. How do I get even further?”