Jessica Pegula is an American professional tennis player born on February 24, 1994, in Buffalo, New York. As the daughter of billionaire Terry Pegula, a petroleum magnate who built his fortune through natural gas fracking and later invested in professional sports teams, and Kim Pegula, a businesswoman born in Seoul, South Korea before being adopted, Jessica grew up in a family with immense wealth estimated at over $7.5 billion.
Her parents own the NFL’s Buffalo Bills and the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres, immersing her in a world of high-stakes athletics from a young age.
Pegula began playing tennis at seven, and her family relocated multiple times, from Pennsylvania to South Carolina and Florida, to support her burgeoning talent. Of partial Korean descent through her mother, she has balanced her athletic pursuits with entrepreneurial ventures, including co-founding the health-focused restaurant chain Healthy Scratch with her sister Kelly in 2016.
Married to Taylor Gahagen since 2021, Pegula is known for her resilience, having overcome a severe knee injury that sidelined her for over a year and a half between 2013 and 2015, as well as personal family health challenges.
Siblings
Pegula shares a close-knit bond with her four siblings, a mix of half-siblings and full siblings from her parents’ blended family. Her father, Terry Pegula, was previously married to Anne Shirley, with whom he had two children: Michael Pegula, the eldest sibling, about whom little is publicly known, and Laura Pegula, who pursued a tennis career herself, playing Division I college tennis at the University of Pittsburgh before transitioning into the family business.
Laura has risen to prominence in the Pegula Sports and Entertainment empire, taking on a key leadership role with the Buffalo Bills following her stepmother Kim’s health issues. Jessica’s full siblings from Terry and Kim’s marriage are Kelly Pegula, her elder sister who co-founded Healthy Scratch and once saved their mother’s life by administering CPR during a cardiac arrest in 2022, and Matthew Pegula, the youngest brother, who has occasionally appeared alongside the family at sports events but maintains a lower profile.
Together, the siblings form a supportive network, often attending Jessica’s matches and contributing to the family’s sports and business legacy, with Kelly particularly noted for her fashion design interests and entrepreneurial spirit.
Jessica Pegula’s career
Pegula’s tennis career has been marked by a remarkable late-blooming ascent, transforming her from an ITF Circuit regular into one of the WTA’s elite competitors. She turned professional in 2009 at age 15, making her WTA main-draw debut in 2012 at Indian Wells, but her early years were defined by modest results and a devastating right knee injury that forced her off the tour from 2013 to 2015.
Upon her return, Pegula steadily climbed, cracking the top 100 in 2019 after qualifying for the US Open main draw and reaching her first WTA final at the Tournoi de Québec. Her breakthrough arrived in 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic, when she won her maiden WTA singles title at the Washington Open and added doubles crowns with Asia Muhammad.
Pegula’s 2021 Australian Open quarterfinal run, where she upset world No. 12 Victoria Azarenka and No. 5 Elina Svitolina, propelled her into the top 50.
By 2022, she captured three WTA 1000 titles—Guangzhou, Chicago, and her first at Indian Wells—and surged to a career-high No. 3 ranking. The following year, 2023, saw her claim the Montreal WTA 1000 and Seoul titles, reach the WTA Finals championship match, and lead the United States to victory in the inaugural United Cup.
In 2024, Pegula reached her first Grand Slam final at the US Open, falling to Aryna Sabalenka in straight sets after defeating Iga Świątek in the quarters, while also winning the Toronto WTA 1000 and Berlin titles. Entering 2025, she advanced to the US Open semifinals for the second consecutive year, defeating Barbora Krejčíková en route, and reclaimed her No. 3 singles ranking in April after overtaking Coco Gauff.
Throughout her career, Pegula has excelled in doubles as well, partnering with Gauff to reach the 2022 French Open final and achieving No. 1 in doubles in 2023. Off the court, she has navigated family health crises, including her mother’s brain injury, while maintaining a 50–19 win-loss record in 2025 alone.
Accolades
Pegula’s accolades reflect her consistency and prowess across singles and doubles, culminating in a résumé that includes nine WTA singles titles and seven doubles titles as of October 2025. Her highest singles ranking of world No. 3 was first attained in October 2022 and reclaimed in April 2025, while she held the No. 1 doubles ranking from September 2023.
Major highlights encompass two Grand Slam singles finals: runner-up at the 2024 US Open, where she became the oldest American woman in the Open Era to reach her first major final, and semifinals at the 2025 US Open. She is an eight-time major singles quarterfinalist, with three appearances each at the Australian Open (2021–2023) and US Open (2022, 2024–2025), plus one each at the French Open (2022) and Wimbledon (2023).
In doubles, Pegula reached the 2022 French Open final with Coco Gauff and the 2023 US Open mixed doubles final with Austin Krajicek. Her WTA 1000 triumphs include singles victories at Indian Wells (2022), Montreal (2023), and Toronto (2024), alongside doubles titles at Indian Wells (2022) and Miami (2023).
Pegula has also shone in team events, captaining the U.S. to the 2023 United Cup title with a decisive win over Italy’s Martina Trevisan, and contributing to the 2024 Billie Jean King Cup semifinals alongside Taylor Townsend. Additional honors include three consecutive year-end top-10 finishes (2022–2024), with No. 7 in 2024, and being the first American since Serena Williams in 2012 to secure three top-10 wins in a season against the world No. 1.