Meet Jessica Pegula, the billionaire heiress fighting for her first Grand Slam title at the US Open

Pegula was calved successful Buffalo connected February 24, 1994. She lived successful Pennsylvania and South Carolina earlier moving to Boca Raton, Florida, successful 2007, The Palm Beach Post reported.

There, she trained pinch Dave Rineberg — Serena and Venus Williams' erstwhile hitting coach — while attending precocious schoolhouse online earlier going to the University of Pittsburgh.

Rineberg told The Palm Beach Post successful 2010 that the Williams sisters "had that aforesaid explosive power" arsenic Pegula, and that's what "really excited" him astir her.

Forbes reported that Terry Pegula founded the lipid and state institution East Resources successful 1983. He sold astir of the company's assets successful 2010 to Royal Dutch Shell for $4.7 billion.

In 2011, Terry Pegula purchased the NHL team, the Buffalo Sabres, for $189 million. And successful 2014, he outbid Donald Trump to acquisition the NFL's Buffalo Bills for $1.4 billion.

According to an effort Jessica Pegula wrote for the Buffalo Bills' website successful 2023, her mom, Kim Pegula, was an progressive personnel of some organizations, serving arsenic the president and co-owner of some teams — making her the first female to clasp specified titles — arsenic good arsenic a personnel of the NFL's workplace diverseness committee and the NHL's executive inclusion council.

However, Kim Pegula went into cardiac apprehension and suffered a encephalon wounded successful June 2022 and is still successful the process of recovering. In 2023, the squad said she would not beryllium returning to her executive roles.

In her first nationalist quality successful 2 years, Kim Pegula attended an arena astatine the team's caller Highmark Stadium successful August 2026.

Terry dissolved Pegula Sports and Entertainment successful August 2023, the institution that held some the Bills and Sabres, and he is now president of some organizations.

Following Pegula's 2023 Wimbledon quarterfinal nonaccomplishment to Markéta Vondroušová, The Times of London reported that she "needs move that family billions can't buy," posing questions like, "Is it imaginable to beryllium quiet for triumph if conclusion is not overly meaningful successful position of wealth?" and arguing that she "has a scheme B whether she wants it aliases not."

Pegula addressed her family's wealthiness successful a play 2 section of Netflix's "Break Point," which documented that nonaccomplishment and referenced the consequent media coverage.

"The journalists that constitute astir maine person nary freakin' clue. I can't bargain my measurement into a semifinal. I was conscionable like, 'What benignant of clickbait trash is this?'" she said.

She besides defended her upbringing successful the episode.

"Some group get this image that it's really easy for maine because my dada is very wealthy, but that didn't hap till I was 17 aliases 18," she said. "They gave maine a awesome puerility and instilled a batch of activity ethic successful me. They decidedly sewage maine to this point."

In a November 2023 question and reply pinch Forbes, Pegula elaborated connected her family's wealthiness and its effect connected her profession arsenic a master athlete, saying that personification isn't going to go a successful jock unless they "work hard," are talented, "and really are driven to get there."

Pegula told Forbes she was inspired to play by her older half-sister Laura, who played collegiately astatine the University of Pittsburgh.

The Palm Beach Post reported that Pegula started taking tennis lessons astatine property 7 and that her family moved to Boca Raton, Florida, successful 2007 to thief her prosecute her dreams.

In 2010, Pegula told the publication, "I really admit everything they do for me. They've fixed up a lot. We've moved down (here) conscionable to springiness maine a shot, because they judge successful me."

"My mom ever jokes, 'Do you cognize really overmuch money you beryllium maine from these tournaments? If you ever triumph a Grand Slam, salary maine back,'" she added.

Unlike Coco Gauff and Carlos Alcaraz, who burst onto the segment arsenic teenagers, Pegula didn't person her large break until her mid-20s.

She reached her first Grand Slam quarterfinal during the 2021 Australian Open and has since competed successful the quarterfinals astatine each Grand Slam tournament.

Pegula seems to beryllium inching person to that Grand Slam title, reaching the last astatine the 2024 US Open, the semifinals astatine the 2025 US Open and the 2026 Australian Open, and the quarterfinals astatine Wimbledon successful 2026.

She has won 11 singles titles successful her career, astir precocious astatine the Dubai DutyTennis Championships successful February and astatine the Credit One Charleston Open successful April, her 2nd consecutive title successful Charleston.

At her first quality astatine the 2026 US Open connected Sunday, she started disconnected beardown pinch a 6-3, 6-2 triumph complete Romania's Elena-Gabriela Ruse.

Next, she'll look chap American Sofia Kenin connected Wednesday.

In 2026 alone, her prize money stands astatine much than $4.2 million, the WTA reported.

In 2025, Forbes named her arsenic the 10th highest-paid female jock of the year, reporting her yearly net had reached $12.3 million, including $5.3 cardinal connected the court, and $7 cardinal off.

Her sponsors person included awesome brands specified arsenic Adidas, Hyatt Hotels, Yonex, Ready Nutrition, IBM, De Bethune watches, Dyson James Limited, and Gorjana jewelry.

She has been outspoken astir the spread betwixt antheral and female tennis players' pay, telling the outlet, "We ever talk astir really it's adjacent astatine Slams, but those are 4 tournaments a twelvemonth — it's not adjacent astatine a batch of the different tournaments."

"I deliberation we request to do amended astatine trading our game," she added. "It's specified an world sport, and location are truthful galore different stories, and we scope truthful galore people. But are we really telling those stories the champion measurement we tin to the fans?"

Pegula told Forbes successful 2023 that they've "learned a batch from each different from playing doubles" and that they "have a batch of fun."

She besides described Gauff, now 22, arsenic "definitely Gen Z," and said they flick nosy astatine each different for their generational differences, specified arsenic Pegula not knowing TikTok trends.

However, aft suffering an early exit from the Paris Olympics — the duo mislaid successful the 2nd information to Karolina Muchova and Linda Noskova of the Czech Republic — the brace announced they were taking a measurement backmost from doubles title for the remainder of the 2024 season. They person not played arsenic doubles partners since.

Pegula helped recovered the statement successful 2022, a determination she said was inspired by her mother, who was adopted from an orphanage successful South Korea and raised successful Upstate New York.

In a station for the Buffalo Bills shared successful May 2023, Pegula wrote, "I'm not judge she ever cared astir aliases moreover saw the barriers that were successful beforehand of her entering the sports world, a male-dominated section without a ton of Asian American representation. She collapsed those barriers without moreover knowing it."

"Once she did recognize what she had accomplished, she became a sound for practice successful sports," Pegula added. "We person the aforesaid extremity pinch the AAPITA. The AAPI tennis organization is ample but underrepresented. We dream to empower leaders, turn visibility, and create programming that encourages younker participation."

Forbes reported that Pegula founded the institution successful 2017 while recovering from hep room pinch the thief of a "business relationship successful Buffalo."

The company's products see a vitamin C cleanser, lavender mist, and moisturizers, and unit for $22 to $40 for individual products.

Forbes reported that Pegula was "essentially a one-woman company," progressive successful each measurement of the process, from choosing consistencies and smells to moving the company's Shopify and societal media accounts, helping pinch web design, and moreover penning the labels.

As her tennis profession has progressed, she's had to measurement backmost and attraction connected hiring help.

"It's been a difficult enactment to benignant of equilibrium each the responsibilities that I person from before, erstwhile it was just, you showed up astatine practice," Pegula said. "I'm a perfectionist, and I want it to beryllium successful."

The couple, who started making love successful 2015, founded A Lending Paw successful 2018. The nonprofit supports organizations that rescue and rehabilitate dogs, arsenic good arsenic programs that train rescued dogs to go work animals.

"The emotion from your dogs is unreal," Pegula told Tennis.com successful 2025. "They aren't going to beryllium location and judge you; they conscionable perceive and emotion back, nary matter what. They thief maine bring maine backmost to appreciating the mini moments astatine home, nary matter what reliable moments I'm facing."

Gahagen is besides vice president of Ready 24. Before their ventures together, he worked astatine Pegula Sports and Entertainment, the institution formerly owned by Pegula's parents.

Gahagen and Pegula joined astatine the Biltmore Estate successful Asheville, North Carolina, successful 2021.

Pegula started the podcast pinch Madison Keys, Jennifer Brady, and Desirae Krawczyk successful August 2025, during the 2025 US Open. In the episodes, they talk astir the latest WTA news and popular culture, reply instrumentality questions, and stock behind-the-scenes glimpses into life arsenic a pro tennis player.

In a live episode up of the 2026 US Open, Pegula said signaling the podcast didn't consciousness for illustration different activity responsibility amid her packed schedule.

"This is benignant of for illustration therapeutic," she said. "This is fun. This is conscionable chit-chatting."