Jessica Pegula has given herself another shot at reaching a Grand Slam final after battling past Emma Navarro at the US Open. The American dropped the opening set but found a way, setting up a semifinal clash with top seed Aryna Sabalenka. While Pegula’s tennis has been doing the talking in New York, her family background has once again followed her into the spotlight.
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On the Nothing Major Show, former world No. 8 Sam Querrey pushed back against the way fans talk about Pegula and Navarro.
“When Jess and Emma are playing the whole billionaire narrative that you just see everywhere. It’s so annoying,” said Querrey on the podcast. “I can’t stand when people say ‘oh, the billionaires are playing.’ You don’t decide what family you’re born into. People say it in a way like you shouldn’t like them, but they’re literally the nicest. Both of them are incredible.”
John Isner did not need much convincing. “I’m with you there. It’s so lame. It doesn’t even need to be talked about,” the former American star added.
The discussion comes at an interesting time because Pegula and Navarro had just gone head-to-head for a place in the US Open semifinals, against Aryna Sabalenka. Pegula survived the battle after dropping the opening set, ending Navarro’s run.
Pegula’s parents, Terry and Kim Pegula, own the Buffalo Bills and Buffalo Sabres, with the family’s fortune estimated at $11.8 billion by Forbes. Navarro also comes from a billionaire family. Her father, Ben Navarro, and mother, Kelly, have a reported fortune of $3.2 billion, and the family owns the Charleston and Cincinnati Open tournaments.
That connection has made the two Americans easy targets whenever their names come up together. But Pegula has previously explained that her upbringing was more complicated than the image of a billionaire heiress may appear like.
“I’ve always tried to carry myself as just a normal person because that’s to me how I am,” Pegula told The Times. “I’m definitely aware that I was very privileged and had a lot of good opportunities, and I didn’t want to waste those.”
She also pointed to her father’s background, saying, “My dad is super blue-collar. He grew up with nothing and built his way up, and that mindset was instilled in my family from a young age.”
Pegula has also said that her family’s wealth did not become what it is today until she was around 17 or 18. That does not erase the advantages, if any, but it does offer a different picture from the idea that her entire tennis journey was simply handed to her.
And her current US Open run is another part of that story. Pegula has already beaten Navarro and now has Sabalenka standing between her and a place in the final. Whatever her family name may bring, she still has to win and maintain the world No. 3 ranking.