Tennis loves a teenage prodigy, whether it’s Rafael Nadal, Serena Williams or Coco Gauff. Pegula, though, had to wait—and work—for her success, not cracking the top 100 in the world rankings until 2019, when she was 24. Next came a meteoric rise to No. 3 in singles in 2022 and No. 1 in doubles in 2023. “Looking back four years later about where my mindset was, I don’t know if I really, truly believed it,” she says. “It’s just been a very long journey.” That trek began in Buffalo, New York, where Pegula’s parents, Terry and Kim, are the billionaire owners of both the NFL’s Bills and the NHL’s Sabres. Pegula can more than stand on her own now, however, making an estimated $6 million from endorsements and appearances on top of $6 million in 2023 prize money. She also owns a skin care line, Ready 24, and sits on the board of the Asian American Pacific Islander Tennis Association. “Athletes are becoming more than one-dimensional, becoming many different things and showing their interests on and off the field,” she says. “And I think it’s great.”
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SportsTranscript
00:00 (upbeat music)
00:02 - Jessica, it's so nice to have you here with us today.
00:04 - Thank you, it's nice being here.
00:06 - So you're one of the top tennis players in the world,
00:09 but you also have a reputation as a bit of a late bloomer.
00:11 So four years ago, when you were ranked outside the top 100,
00:15 did you ever think you'd be where you are today?
00:17 - Probably not, to be honest.
00:19 I mean, I always thought that I would make it happen,
00:22 but at the same time, putting in all the work
00:24 and then looking back four years later
00:25 about where my mindset was,
00:27 I don't know if I really truly believed it.
00:29 So yeah, I did, but I didn't, I don't know.
00:33 It's just been a very long journey, I guess.
00:36 - So earlier in your career,
00:37 you dealt with a couple of serious injuries
00:39 that sidelined you for pretty long stretches.
00:42 What kept you going through
00:43 what must've been difficult rehabs there?
00:45 - I think it was just like my love for the game
00:47 would always kind of come through
00:48 and I would have these tough weeks in rehab
00:50 and I would seem to always be able to get through them
00:53 or bounce back.
00:54 And I think I just wanted to get healthy
00:57 and give myself a chance to really prove what I could do.
00:59 And not for other people, but I think more just for myself.
01:02 And I knew I was right there.
01:04 I practiced with a lot of the same girls
01:06 and you see them watching them on TV, having great results
01:09 and you're sitting there injured and hurt.
01:10 And I think that always kind of motivated me as well
01:12 to give myself a chance to come back and be stronger
01:16 and see what I could do.
01:17 So I think that was a big motivation.
01:18 And then just the passion that I love to play the sport
01:21 always kept me going.
01:22 And I think that's important.
01:23 It gets tough if you don't love the sport.
01:26 So I think that's what always kind of got me coming back.
01:29 (upbeat music)
01:32 - What do you love about tennis?
01:34 - I don't know.
01:34 It's just, I love the individuality of it.
01:36 I love that it's all on you and I take a lot of pride
01:39 in knowing that not a lot of sports are like that.
01:41 So to me, it's really fun to be able to say,
01:43 you know, I'm an individual athlete.
01:45 No, I can't really talk to my coach.
01:48 I can't really talk strategy, you know,
01:50 in really tough moments, it's only you.
01:51 And I think that's what makes tennis so unique and special.
01:55 It sucks when you lose, 'cause it's all on you.
01:56 But when you win, you know,
01:58 you're the one that got yourself
01:59 through a really tough moment or a tough match.
02:01 And that to me is like the best feeling.
02:03 - You're coming into your own at this interesting time
02:10 with Serena Williams retired
02:12 and a bunch of young American players on the rise.
02:15 Do you sense an opportunity there for you?
02:17 - I mean, yeah, I feel like I've already
02:19 had opportunities as well,
02:21 but for the next few years, definitely.
02:23 I mean, it's tough.
02:24 Obviously it's in, I think, a tough period
02:26 where even though there's not the Serena
02:28 and Venuses of the world,
02:29 there's still some really good players and a lot of depth.
02:31 I mean, we saw Coco Gauff take advantage of that
02:34 at the US Open, really get hot this summer
02:36 and prove that, you know, she could be a slam champion.
02:38 So I think that definitely motivates me as well.
02:42 I think there's a lot of opportunity right now
02:43 for a lot of girls, so me being one of them.
02:46 So hopefully I can, you know, take advantage of that.
02:49 - And I think a lot of casual tennis fans
02:52 maybe don't realize that outside of the four majors,
02:54 there's still a gender pay gap in tennis.
02:56 And I know it can be tough to get women's matches
02:59 televised in prime time.
03:00 I know that's something that you've spoken about
03:01 in the past, so how do you feel the effort
03:03 is going to change that?
03:05 And, you know, what are your sort of thoughts
03:06 on the tennis landscape right now?
03:08 - Yeah, it's a crazy time.
03:10 You know, women's tennis is a huge sport
03:12 for the highest paid female athlete,
03:13 but at the same time, the pay gap is still very big.
03:17 And we always talk about how it's equal at slams,
03:19 but those are four tournaments a year.
03:21 It's not equal at a lot of the other tournaments.
03:24 I think we need to do better at marketing our game,
03:26 which hopefully, I think the WTA just started
03:28 a new partnership with a private equity company
03:30 that's gonna come in and kind of take the commercial side
03:33 and hopefully really revamp the marketing.
03:35 And I think getting more stories out there
03:37 on all the incredible players that we have.
03:39 - We can make this the last question,
03:42 so I'll make it a tough one.
03:44 What do you want your legacy to be?
03:46 - Ooh, I would love to just know that I helped the game.
03:50 I think helped kids, especially.
03:52 I love tennis, and I think it's created
03:55 so many opportunities, even just sitting here today,
03:57 the opportunities that it's created for me, it's insane.
04:01 And then on top of that, you know, change the game
04:03 and hopefully leave a mark, not just results-wise,
04:06 but you know, whether it's helping us get to equal pay
04:09 or helping more kids get rackets in their hands.
04:12 I think any of those things would be amazing,
04:14 and I wanna, you know, give back to the sport
04:16 as much as I can.
04:17 (upbeat music)
04:19 (upbeat music)
04:22 (chime)