Article by Luminița Paul – Published on Saturday, 28 February 2026, 20:24 / Updated on Saturday, 28 February 2026 20:46
Jessica Pegula (32, WTA No. 5), the recent winner of the WTA 1000 in Dubai, revealed that she always wanted to be the world No. 1 and that she started practicing and loving tennis before realizing that she belonged to a very rich family.
Three American players are in the Top 10, too Jessica Pegula is one of them – on the fifth step, between Coco Gauff and Amanda Anisimova. The former world number 3, in October 2022, she recently won the 10th title of her career, in the WTA 1000 category tournament in Dubai, and at the Australian Open she achieved her best performance, reaching the semifinals.
And she added something else to her CV: she was appointed by the WTA president of the Women's Circuit Restructuring Council. Pegula was a member of the Players' Council for six years, from now on she will fulfill a role with even greater responsibility.
Together with her colleagues, they tried in the past years – and without success – to steer the WTA in another direction. The recommendations for the operation of some changes in the calendar remained without echo, and the top players must continue to participate annually in the four Grand Slams, 10 WTA 1000s, six WTA 500s and the WTA Finals if they qualify.
In response to the lack of reaction of the leadership of the women's circuit, there have been individual, personal reactions. Some players simply chose not to take part in certain tournaments to ease the physical and pressure load.
Jessica Pegula and change: “Something like: 'We listen to you, we try to make things right'”
The result is that at the recent tournament in Dubai there were 24 forfeits and dropouts, including the WTA Nos. 1 and 2, Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek.
The idea of this restructuring council is to introduce changes in the calendar from the beginning of next year. Pegula believes that it is possible, citing as an argument the fact that the new president of the WTA, Valerie Camilloappointed three months ago, wants to listen to players and make decisions with positive impact.
Jessica Pegula at Australian Open 2026 Photo: Imago Images
“I think in the past the WTA has been slow to make changes. I think now it's about a message being sent, that Valerie is taking responsibility, the board as well, to effect change. Something like: «We listen to you, we try to do things well and as quickly as possible». I think being there as a top player will help get things goingJessica explained.
A lot of people don't understand why the 32-year-old player does what she does when she comes from a wealthy family. Even Qinwen Zheng, the Paris 2024 Olympic champion, recently returned from a series of injuries, asked her directly: “Why does a rich girl play tennis? Tennis is a tough sport, why don't you enjoy the high society life?“.
Pegula gave an answer akin to a candid confession in an interview with The Second Serve. “It's something I've loved doing since I was little. Before I knew about my family or money or teams and stuff” she said. Her family owns the teams, among other things Buffalo Bills of the NFL and Buffalo Sabres from the NHL.
7.5billion dollars is the estimate of the Pegula family fortune, with parents Terry and Kim having productive businesses in the oil industry
23.4million dollars is the total tennis prize money, gross, accumulated by Jessica Pegula, who has her own businesses, including a cosmetics company, Ready 24
“I wanted to be number one in the world since, I don't know, six years. It's been a dream for as long as I can remember, to be number one, to play on the circuit, to be able to win Grand Slams. I think it's great that I can look back and say that I put myself in a position to be able to do these things, to live my own dream,” she told the quoted source.
Simona Halep, at the Tournament of Champions, between Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula/Photo: Getty Images
She wasn't an early riser on the circuit, she blossomed more slowly, and now she has experience on her side. He motivates himself by making sure he doesn't stand still, that he's always trying to improve. She often talks to her coaches and tells them the ideas she has, the things she would like to work on, and they try to calm her down and take it one step at a time.
“In the end, you challenge yourself as a person, as a player, as a competitor to be better. That has always been my source of motivation”, concluded Jessica Pegula, who will start next week in the WTA 1000 tournament from Indian Wells.
