Jessica Pegula: Inside the Tennis Star's $20M Net Worth and Billionaire Roots

Jessica Pegula entered the world on February 24, 1994, in Buffalo, New York, as the daughter of Terry Pegula and Kim Pegula.

Her full name is Jessica Pegula, and she grew up in a household shaped by her father's ascent in the energy sector and her mother's involvement in business operations.

Her father, Terry Pegula, who was born in 1951 in Pennsylvania, pursued a degree in petroleum and natural gas engineering at Penn State University after starting as a math major and switching fields on a scholarship.

He began his career at Getty Oil, but in 1983, he established East Resources with a modest $7,500 loan from friends and family to drill shallow wells.

The company expanded into natural gas production, acquiring leases in the Marcellus and Niobrara shale formations, which propelled its growth during the fracking boom of the early 2000s.

In 2010, Terry sold the majority of East Resources' assets to Royal Dutch Shell for $4.7 billion, marking a turning point that elevated his status among American entrepreneurs in the oil and gas industry.

Her mother, Kim Pegula, who was born in 1969 in Seoul, South Korea, experienced a different path; abandoned as a child, she found herself adopted by an American family in 1974 at the age of five and relocated to Fairport, New York.

She met Terry in 1991 while applying for a waitress position at a restaurant near his offices in Allegany, New York, and he instead hired her at East Resources. They married in 1993, blending their lives as Terry's business flourished.

Kim later became co-owner and president of the Buffalo Bills, the first woman in NFL history to hold those roles, and she also managed operations for Pegula Sports and Entertainment, which oversaw the family's sports holdings until its dissolution in 2023.

In June 2022, Kim suffered a cardiac arrest, requiring CPR from her daughter Kelly to survive, and she has since dealt with expressive aphasia, memory loss, and a brain injury, leading to her declaration as incapacitated in March 2023.

She made her first public appearance after the incident in July 2024 at a Buffalo Bills training camp practice.

Jessica has four siblings in total. From Terry's first marriage to Anne Shirley, there are Michael Pegula and Laura Pegula; Laura joined the family petroleum business and assumed some of Kim's responsibilities with the Bills after her health issues.

From Terry and Kim's marriage, besides Jessica, there are Kelly Pegula, who pursued interests in singing and fashion design while working for Pegula Sports and Entertainment, and Matthew Pegula, about whom public details remain limited beyond family mentions.

The family relocated several times during Jessica's childhood, living in Pennsylvania and South Carolina before settling in Boca Raton, Florida, in 2007 to support her emerging tennis pursuits.

She attended high school online and later enrolled at the University of Pittsburgh, majoring in communications with a minor in administration of justice, following in the footsteps of her half-sister Laura, who played tennis there collegiately.

On her upbringing, she shared, "Some people get this image that it's really easy for me because my dad is very wealthy, but that didn't happen till I was 17 or 18. They gave me a great childhood and instilled a lot of work ethic in me. They definitely got me to this point."

Jessica began playing tennis at seven years old, drawn to the sport through Laura's involvement. She trained with Dave Rineberg, a former hitting coach for Serena and Venus Williams, honing her skills in Florida.

Turning professional in 2009 at age 15, she competed in junior circuits and early pro events, building experience amid the family's growing prominence.

In 2010, she told The Palm Beach Post about her parents' support:

"I really appreciate everything they do for me. They've given up a lot. We've moved down (here) just to give me a shot, because they believe in me," and "My mom always jokes, 'Do you know how much money you owe me from these tournaments? If you ever win a Grand Slam, pay me back.'"

Her major debut came at the 2015 US Open as a qualifier, where she defeated Shuko Aoyama, Margarita Gasparyan, Melanie Oudin, and Alison Van Uytvanck before falling to Dominika Cibulkova in the third round.

In 2018, she reached her first WTA singles final at the Tournoi de Quebec, overcoming Kristyna Pliskova, Ons Jabeur, Petra Martic, and Sofia Kenin, only to lose to Pauline Parmentier, and ended the year in the top 125.

By 2019, Jessica claimed her inaugural WTA singles title at the Washington Open, besting Camila Giorgi in the final and entering the top 100, finishing at No. 76.

The following year, she advanced to the Auckland Open final, losing to Serena Williams, and upset Aryna Sabalenka at the Cincinnati Open for her first WTA Premier quarterfinal.

At the 2020 US Open, she secured her first Grand Slam main-draw victory since 2015.

Her breakthrough arrived in 2021 with a quarterfinal at the Australian Open, defeating Victoria Azarenka, Kristina Mladenovic, Samantha Stosur, and Elina Svitolina before losing to Jennifer Brady, propelling her into the top 50 at No. 43.

That year, she notched semifinals in Qatar and Montreal, plus quarterfinals at several WTA 1000 tournaments, including upsets over Naomi Osaka and multiple victories against Karolina Pliskova.

In 2022, Jessica captured her first WTA 1000 singles title at the Guadalajara Open, defeating Maria Sakkari after triumphs over Elena Rybakina, Bianca Andreescu, Sloane Stephens, and Victoria Azarenka, becoming the first American woman to win such an event since Madison Keys in 2019.

She reached quarterfinals at all four majors that year and qualified for the WTA Finals in both singles and doubles, the first American since Sloane Stephens in 2018 to do so in both categories.

Partnering with Coco Gauff, she won two WTA 1000 doubles titles, and with Erin Routliffe, another.

She peaked at No. 3 in singles and No. 6 in doubles.

The next year, she guided the United States to victory in the inaugural United Cup, beating Martina Trevisan in the final after defeating Iga Swiatek.

She added WTA 1000 wins in Montreal over Liudmila Samsonova and reached quarterfinals at all majors again, ascending to No. 1 in doubles with Gauff.

At the WTA Finals, she made the singles final, losing to Swiatek after a seven-match streak against top-10 opponents, and claimed the Korea Open title.

In 2024, Jessica advanced to her first Grand Slam singles final at the US Open, falling to Aryna Sabalenka after ousting Iga Swiatek and Karolina Muchova.

She defended her Canadian Open crown, reached the Cincinnati final against Sabalenka, and won on grass in Berlin. She qualified for the WTA Finals but withdrew due to injury.

As of 2025, she has secured titles at the ATX Open over McCartney Kessler, Charleston, her first on clay against Sofia Kenin, and Bad Homburg, defeating Swiatek in the final.

She posted semifinals at the US Open against Sabalenka, Wuhan against Coco Gauff, and the China Open against Linda Noskova, ending the year at No. 6 in singles.

Regarding athletic success, she said, "Someone isn't going to become a successful athlete unless they work hard, are talented, and really are driven to get there."

Jessica Pegula's height is around 1.70 m, and her weight is about 70 kg, which is perfect for a tennis player to play the game well.

Her career boasts nine WTA singles titles, seven in doubles, three WTA 1000 singles titles, and eight major singles quarterfinals, with a record of 487 wins to 271 losses in singles and 237 wins to 149 losses in doubles. She has amassed $21,867,635 in prize money.

She has spoken on tennis pay equity:

"We always talk about how it's equal at Slams, but those are four tournaments a year — it's not equal at a lot of the other tournaments," and "I think we need to do better at marketing our game. It's such an international sport, and there are so many different stories, and we reach so many people. But are we really telling those stories the best way we can to the fans?"

Jessica's personal net worth stands at approximately $20 million in 2025, derived from her tennis earnings, which exceeded $14 million in career prize money by mid-2024, and endorsements with brands such as Adidas, Yonex, Ready Nutrition, IBM, De Bethune watches, Dyson Zone headphones, and Gorjana jewelry.

In 2023, she ranked as the seventh highest-paid female athlete, with $6 million from on-court play and $6.5 million off-court.

Her family's wealth, however, reaches far beyond, with Terry and Kim holding a combined net worth of around $8 billion, stemming from the East Resources sale and their ownership of the Buffalo Bills, acquired for $1.4 billion in 2014, and the Buffalo Sabres, bought for $189 million in 2011.

Terry's individual fortune is estimated at $7.7 billion to $9.3 billion, placing him among the wealthiest sports owners.

The Pegulas also own Black River Entertainment and previously operated Pegula Sports and Entertainment.

In her personal life, Jessica married Taylor Gahagen in October 2021 at the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina, after postponing their original 2020 date due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

They first connected around 2015, with early public glimpses including a 2016 date in New York City.

Gahagen, born in Williamsville, New York, graduated from SUNY Fredonia with a business administration degree and earned an MBA from Canisius University, where he assisted the hockey program.

He worked for Pegula Sports and Entertainment from 2013, holding roles in marketing, promotions, and corporate development, including launching LECOM Harborcenter in 2014.

In a 2016 interview with WKBW TV, he said:

"I don’t think there’s anywhere else I would want to work. It’s so exciting. I think everybody’s talked about the opportunity in the area and the opportunity for Buffalo and the pride of Buffalo is bar none. Raising the profile of Buffalo on a national, international, global scale is what’s most exciting."

He left in 2023 to become managing partner at Dragos Capital and Agarwood Wealth.

Together (Jessica and her husband), they founded A Lending Paw, a charity that trains rescue dogs as service animals. Jessica explained, "We wanted to help people afford service dogs. Not only is that about dogs helping people, it’s about people helping dogs, because we only work with rescues. It goes both ways."

They adopted a puppy in May 2024 and honeymooned in Costa Rica in July 2022, where Jessica described the experience to the WTA: "It was amazing, it was so much fun. We want to go back so bad. It was just the best experience. The people, the food, the lifestyle was so much fun." She noted her adventurous side contrasted with his, as he watched her zipline and rappel waterfalls.

In 2016, Jessica and Kelly opened Healthy Scratch, a restaurant in LECOM Harborcenter, expanding to a food truck and more locations by 2018-2019, but all closed by 2022 amid the pandemic.

As a founding board member of the Asian American Pacific Islander Tennis Association since 2022, she wrote about her mother's influence:

"I'm not sure she ever cared about or even saw the barriers that were in front of her entering the sports world, a male-dominated field without a ton of Asian American representation. She broke those barriers without even knowing it," and "Once she did realize what she had accomplished, she became a voice for representation in sports. We have the same goal with the AAPITA. The AAPI tennis community is large but underrepresented. We hope to empower leaders, grow visibility, and create programming that encourages youth participation."

In 2017, she launched Ready 24, a skincare line for active lifestyles, where Gahagen serves as vice president. On the products, she told Vogue:

"I like to say it’s adaptable skin care. It’s for people on the go, not just athletes, and people that might want to mix their regimen with other products. It’s very basic: Growing up, I had horrible skin, and usually when I did less, my skin got better."

Jessica has addressed perceptions of her family's influence, stating in an interview, "The journalists that write about me have no freakin' clue. I can't buy my way into a semifinal. I was just like, 'What kind of clickbait trash is this?'"

On managing her business ventures, she said, "It's been a hard act to kind of balance all the responsibilities that I have from before, when it was just, you showed up at practice. I'm a perfectionist, and I want it to be successful."

After defeating Shelby Rogers at the 2024 US Open, she reflected tearfully:

"I remember just playing 16-under Southerns with her, and now we're here, and I think it's so cool," and "All of a sudden turning into one of the favorites when my year hasn't been that great has been kind of crazy."

On her mother's recovery, Buffalo Bills player Dion Dawkins commented, "She's been here. We've seen her every day, and to see her progress, it's amazing, and for her to even get on the count of 3, 2, 1 Bills, like for her to do it, it's insane. So, I'm proud of her. That's still the mama bear, and we're happy to have her still."

Jessica resides in Boca Raton, Florida, stands 5 feet 7 inches tall, plays right-handed with a two-handed backhand, and has been coached by Mark Knowles and Mark Merklein since 2024.