Jessica Pegula

About

American professional tennis player who had major successes at the 2021 Australian Open, defeating players like Victoria Azarenka, Kristina Mladenovic, Samantha Stosur, and Elina Svitolina. In April 2022, she won her first career WTA doubles title with Asia Muhammad, beating former doubles world No. 1 Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini in the final. She and doubles partner Coco Gauff were Grand Slam finalists in doubles at the 2022 French Open. She has accumulated over 240,000 followers on Instagram. 

Before Fame

She finished high school through online classes to work around her tennis schedule. She later attended the University of Pittsburgh, where she played collegiately up until turning pro in 2011. 

Trivia

In 2016, she and her sister Kelly opened a quick-serve restaurant called Healthy Scratch. It was located in LECOM Harborcenter, an ice hockey-themed mixed-use development owned by her parents in Buffalo, New York. 

Family Life

She is the daughter of Terry and Kim Pegula owners of the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League and the Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey League. Her mother is half-Korean, having been born in Seoul before being adopted at age 5. She has four siblings. 

Associated With

At the Australian Open in January 2022, she lost to eventual champion Ashleigh Barty in the singles quarterfinals. At the French Open in June 2022, she lost to eventual singles champion Iga Świątek.