Jessica Pegula is still pursuing a first Grand Slam title but she is the world’s richest tennis player, showing her generous side after the ATP Austin final back in March.
While many tennis stars are known for their taste for luxury, Jessica Pegula’s wealth sets her apart from the rest.
The American, who is yet to win a Grand Slam title and was this week knocked out in the first round at Wimbledon, has an impressive personal net worth of around $15 million. But it’s the prospect of inheriting a portion of her father Terry Pegula’s staggering $7.6 billion fortune that has seen her dubbed the ‘world’s richest tennis player’.
Terry’s position as the 418th wealthiest person in the world, according to Forbes, is attributed to his successful ventures in the oil and gas sector. The billionaire tycoon also owns sports powerhouses Buffalo Bills (NFL) and Buffalo Sabres (NHL).
Among the family’s extravagant possessions are a $76M superyacht named Top Five II and a private jet, which Jessica also uses. But the world’s No. 3 tennis star doesn’t hoard these luxuries all to herself, as evidenced by her generous offer to let her fellow finalists use her jet at Austin’s ATX Open in March.
At the event, the 31-year-old competed in the women’s singles final on the Sunday, defeating fellow American McCartney Kessler with a score of 7-5 6-2.
But afterwards, Jessica, along with doubles finalists Zhang Shuai, Yue Yuan, and Anna Blinkova, faced a daunting 1,263-mile trip to reach their next tournament in Indian Wells, California.
That would have involved a late-night transfer in Los Angeles or making long trips to airports in Dallas and Houston, which would have hampered their preparation for Wednesday’s tournament start.
Pegula stuck around in Austin until the end of the doubles final, where Yue and Blinkova claimed victory over Kessler and Shuai with a 3-6 6-1 10-4 win, to fly all of the players straight from Texas to California so that they could make it on time.
China’s Zhang expressed her gratitude on Instagram for the act, sharing a photo of the private jet along with the caption: “She could have left right after her singles final, but she is such a selfless and generous girl.
“This message is not to show I took the jet, [I] just wanted to appreciate and transfer the love.” Pegula replied: “You’re too cute.
Both Russian Blinkova and China’s Yue echoed Zhang’s sentiments on Instagram and extended their thanks to Pegula, with the former posting: “Thank you Jessie for your kindness and generosity.”
Sadly for all five of the tennis stars mentioned, including Pegula, they suffered elimination in the first round of the singles at Wimbledon this week. Pegula’s defeat by world No. 116 Elisabetta Cocciaretto came as one of several early shocks.
The No. 3 seed lost 6-2 6-3 in just 58 minutes, marking her only first-round exit since the 2020 French Open. Pegula, previously considered a favorite for the title and a former quarter-finalist at SW19, seemed to be hampered by a knee injury, which was clear from the supportive tape