Jessica Pegula has battled against inaccuracies regarding her rich upbringing for the majority of her tennis career, but the billionaire heiress’ journey to the US Open final could finally silence her doubters.
The Buffalo-born star pulled off a 1-6, 6-4, 6-2 victory over Karolina Muchova to reach her first Major final and set up an enticing clash with Aryna Sabalenka on Saturday.
The 30-year-old is aiming to bring home her maiden Grand Slam trophy on her home turf, having become the oldest American woman in the Open Era to reach their first US Open final.
It’s been a long time coming, but Pegula is adamant she never gave up on the idea that she could win her first Slam title.
“I don’t know if I thought it’s not going to happen, but there’s definitely moments where either I didn’t want to play tennis [or] I didn’t really know if I wanted to do it anymore. You definitely hit those types of low moments,” Pegula said.
“I have definitely had several of those, but I think in the end I always would kind of snap back and be, like, ‘OK, what am I talking about?’ I would always kind of flip the script a little bit, and I have always been good at doing that.
“I think that’s why I’ve always been able to come back from different challenges even better than before. Honestly, I’ve always felt like – not that it was never going to happen – I almost think the opposite. I always felt like ‘you’ll figure it out eventually’.”
If there’s one thing that hasn’t been a motivating factor for Pegula’s valiant run in women’s tennis, it’s money. Pegula is the heiress to the £6billion ($8bn) fortune amassed by her billionaire parents, Terry and Kim Pegula, who won NFL franchise Buffalo Bills.
Pegula has been forced to defend herself against criticisms of her privileged background and insists she does not live a life of luxury away from the tennis court.
“It’s kind of annoying that people think I have a butler, that I get chauffeured around. I have a private limo, that I fly private everywhere….I’m definitely not like that,” she said.
“People can think what they want. I don’t know. I think it’s kind of funny. A butler?! Like, I read these comments, like, ‘she probably has this and that and that’. I’m, like, ‘no, not at all’. Maybe I should. I don’t know at this point. Is that what you want me to do, do all these crazy things?”
“It’s a little annoying, but honestly I just think it’s kind of funny because I don’t really even know anyone that lives like that. It’s outrageous.”
But few could blame Pegula for being excited at the prospect of taking home a big cheque from New York. Organisers announced before the tournament that the total prize fund being offered for the Grand Slam would be rising to £59.1million ($75m) – a massive 15 per cent higher than the amount paid out in 2023.
That means the winner of both men’s and women’s singles titles will land a money-spinning payday of £2.87m to add to their bank accounts. It may be a drop in the ocean for Pegula as far as her parents are concerned, but it represents earnings she collected through her own success – and critics can’t take that away from her.
