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Talk about “net” worth.
Top-ranked American tennis player Jessica Pegula, a 28-year-old from Buffalo, N.Y., played in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open on Jan. 24. Pegula may not be a household name yet, but she has been putting in the work and steadily climbing the rankings since she first hit the pro tennis scene over a decade ago. She’s now the No. 4-ranked women’s singles player in the world.
Another fun fact: Her parents are worth $6.7 billion.
Pegula acknowledges that her family has a lot more money than the families of other players on the tour. “I think people definitely root more for the underdog, and so I’ve never really felt like people are totally rooting for my story,” she told the Guardian.
And she’s gotten better at accepting that: “It might not be an underdog story, but it’s kind of a cool story,” she said, referring to how far up the rankings she has risen in recent years.
Here are five things to know about Pegula.
Pegula is the No. 4 tennis player in the world
Pegula holds the No. 4 spot in the Women’s Tennis Association’s world singles rankings and is the top-ranked U.S. player.
The other top Americans are Coco Gauff at No. 6 and Madison Keys at No. 24.
Pegula played in her first pro tournament in 2009. Before that, she played for years on the ITF Circuit, the minor leagues of tennis. She has earned $7.6 million in prize money since going pro in 2009.
Pegula’s parents own the Buffalo Bills
Jessica Pegula is the daughter of Bills owners Terry and Kim Pegula, who bought the team in 2014 for $1.4 billion.
During her 2023 Australian Open matches, Pegula wore a patch on her skirt with the number 3 to honor the jersey number of Bills player Damar Hamlin, who collapsed on the field during a game on Jan. 2.
Her family has a net worth of $6.7 billion
Terry Pegula made his fortune in the fracking industry and has a net worth of $6.7 billion, according to estimates by Forbes.
Despite their huge fortune, the Pegulas were able to secure public funding for a new Bills stadium that will open in 2026. The Bills owners were able to get a record $850 million of the reported $1.4 billon cost of the stadium funded by New York state and Erie County, where Buffalo is located.
Jessica Pegula recently wrote an essay for the Players’ Tribune in which she said that her mother, Kim Pegula, suffered cardiac arrest in 2022 and remains in recovery. Her mother is “dealing with significant expressive aphasia and significant memory issues,” she wrote.
Pegula is about to be a ‘free agent’
While there are no teams in professional tennis, Pegula is still set to be a free agent at the end of 2023, according to her agency, GSE Worldwide. An athletic-endorsement free agent, that is.
Pegula’s current deal with Adidas
ADS,
will expire at the end of the year, leaving her free to sign with any brand she chooses.
“Our initial focus will be finding several non-industry partners to enhance Jess’s global brand,” GSE Worldwide tennis agent Chris McCormack told Sports Business Journal about Pegula’s endorsement future.
Sponsorship deals for highly ranked tennis players have the potential to bring in more money than playing professional tennis does. For example, superstars Naomi Osaka and Serena Williams have both made a lot more money from sponsorships and business deals than from playing tennis in recent years.
See also: How to bet on the Super Bowl legally: Everything you need to know about wagering on the big game
Last year, MarketWatch chronicled the unusual move by U.S. player Danielle Collins to play in the 2022 Australian Open final without any clothing- or shoe-sponsorship deals.
Pegula had a career prize total of $7.2 million prior to this year’s Australian Open.
Pegula is seeking her first Grand Slam title
Pegula has a professional record of 344–216 and has won two singles titles and five doubles titles.
She is still seeking her first Grand Slam title in one of the four biggest tournaments of the year: the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon and the U.S. Open.
“My goal the whole year was to start winning more tournaments, to keep persisting throughout the year and finally at the end of year, it was more rewarding,” Pegula said in a recap of 2022.
The next Grand Slam tournament opportunity for Pegula will be the French Open in May.
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