Jessica Pegula‘s wealthy father means many fans and reports make assumptions about how she lives her life, but the American is unimpressed by much of what people say to her.
Pegula is currently enjoying an excellent North American hardcourt season. After returning from the Olympics, the 30-year-old retained her WTA-1000 title at the Canadian Open by defeating Amanda Anisimova in the final.
She backed that up with a run to the final of the Cincinnati Open the following week. In the final, Pegula was denied a second consecutive title by a powerful serving performance from Aryna Sabalenka.
That minor setback has not impacted Pegula in New York, though. She eased into her career’s seventh Grand Slam quarterfinal without dropping a set. Pegula will face Iga Swiatek for a place in the semifinal.
The three-time WTA-1000 champion is also the No. 1 American player in the live rankings after Coco Gauff’s exit from the tournament. Gauff is guaranteed to drop out of the Top 5 when the year’s final Grand Slam ends.
Despite her impressive achievements, Pegula’s family’s wealth also receives much attention. Her father, Terry, is rumored to be worth $7.7 billion. He made his fortune in the oil and gas industry and owns the Buffalo Bills NFL team.
Although Jessica was not directly involved in creating her father’s fortune, she recently opened up in a press conference about the comments fans and reporters have made to her about the lifestyle they believe she has, which the US Open quarterfinal says is not accurate.
“I did some media thing the other day. They were, like, What’s the most annoying thing? It’s 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. 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.”
It cannot be denied that Pegula comes from a privileged background. However, that fact does not define her as a human being, and she can still be a down-to-earth person who does not let wealth get to her head.
There is some irony to the situation since Pegula often comes across as one of tennis’s least egotistical and entitled people. She always conducts herself properly and is known for making time for fans.
An example of her down-to-earth nature is recent videos she made of herself taking the Subway in different parts of the US. A person with a butler would certainly not be using the Subway with hundreds of other regular people.
Pegula finding repeated questions and assumptions about her lifestyle annoying is entirely understandable. She does not seem overly angry about it, but there is justifiable irritation on her part.
All Pegula can do is keep being a great role model and hope most in the tennis world can see what a good example she is to others. It would be a shame if several people did not judge her for those characteristics.
