At twenty-eight she has become one of the best tennis players in the world, yet she doesn’t feel like a traveling star adored by fans. Jessica Pegula, daughter of prominent American billionaires, is already the third player in the WTA ranking. However, she understands that people prefer “Cinderella”.
She is the daughter of Terrence and Kim Pegula, owners of the Buffalo Bills in the NFL and the Buffalo Sabers in the NHL. Forbes magazine estimates the fortune of her father, who made his fortune in natural gas extraction, at $6.7 billion.
Along with her sister, Jessica owns a hockey-themed fast food business. She has her own skin care line. And she makes a lot of money even with a racket in her hand, she’s already made almost six and a half million dollars in prize money.
In recent years, Pegulaová has quietly knocked on the door of the absolute world top, this year she reached the quarterfinals in three of the four Grand Slam tournaments and made her way into the prestigious Tournament of Champions for the first time: in singles and doubles.
Although she burned out in both disciplines in Fort Worth, Texas, she didn’t win a single match, but in 2022 she has earned a reputation as one of the most consistent tennis players today.
However, during the final event of the season, Pegulaová confided an uncomfortable feeling. The Buffalo native will find that she doesn’t get enough support from tennis fans due to the background she comes from.
“Undoubtedly, sometimes I feel that people don’t want to cheer for me because I haven’t finished the story about Cinderella. I understand. It’s so beautiful”, Pegulaová made herself heard, but at the same time she admitted that she sometimes regrets the judgments hurry and the devaluation of the results of tennis players because of the origins.
“There are many stories of people who came from nowhere and worked their way to success. People prefer these stories. On the other hand, there will be many who will claim that I had it all, could hire the best coaches and have the best Equipment In tennis, but you can’t be successful in the world without long-term hard work,” Pegulaová explained.
“I know from personal experience. Just because you can afford the best coach doesn’t mean it will work,” he added.
That’s why he tries not to take fans’ displeasure personally.
“More important to me is the respect of my colleagues, rivals and people from the tennis world. They see how much hard work is behind my success. They see it and it doesn’t matter if someone else doesn’t,” said Pegulaová, who at the last minute she withdrew from the finals of the currently ongoing Billie Jean King Cup, where she was supposed to be the mainstay of the American women.
