WTA Finals, US Open, Buffalo Bills: Everything you always wanted to know about Jessica Pegula (but never had time to find out) – updated ahead of the 2026 WTA Finals
Jessica Pegula, the 2024 US Open finalist, opens the 2026 WTA Finals against Coco Gauff, after a season with a 10th career title in Dubai and semi-finals at the Australian Open and the US Open. Here are the answers to the questions most often asked about the American.
Jessica Pegula – US Open 2024 © Chryslene Caillaud / Panoramic
Who is Jessica Pegula?
Jessica Pegula is an American tennis player, born in Buffalo, New York, and a former world No. 3. She reached her first Grand Slam final at the 2024 US Open, and in 2026 won more matches than any other player on the WTA Tour by the end of the US Open.
The fifth seed at the 2026 WTA Finals in Indian Wells, she opens against Coco Gauff, with year-end No. 4 at stake. Before the tournament, she was caught on a live microphone calling Mirra Andreeva “a diva” during a practice session; the WTA took responsibility for failing to tell players the microphones were on.
What has Jessica Pegula done in 2026?
She reached her first Australian Open semi-final without dropping a set before the last four, beating Amanda Anisimova 6-2, 7-6 (1) in the quarter-finals before losing to Elena Rybakina. In February, she won Dubai for the 10th title of her career, beating Elina Svitolina in the final.
She also reached three more finals. In Berlin, she beat world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka 6-4, 6-7 (4), 6-0 before Linda Noskova beat her 6-4, 4-6, 6-3. In Washington, Alexandra Eala beat her 4-6, 6-4, 6-0. In Cincinnati, she beat Iga Swiatek 7-5, 4-6, 6-4 for the 300th win of her career, then lost the final to Gauff, 6-2, 6-4.
How did Jessica Pegula do at Wimbledon and the US Open in 2026?
At Wimbledon, she came back from a set down to beat Iva Jovic 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 and reach her 10th Grand Slam quarter-final, where Gauff beat her 4-6, 6-3, 6-3.
At the US Open, she came back from a set and a break down to beat Emma Navarro 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 for her 50th win of the season and a third consecutive semi-final in New York. Sabalenka beat her there for the third September in a row.
What are Jessica Pegula’s best Grand Slam results?
Her best result is the final of the 2024 US Open, where Sabalenka beat her 7-5, 7-5. At 30, she became the oldest American woman in the Open Era to reach a first major final.
She has also reached the semi-finals of the US Open in 2025, when Sabalenka won 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, and 2026, and of the Australian Open in 2026. Before 2021, she had won only three Grand Slam main-draw matches.
How many titles has Jessica Pegula won?
Ten in singles. She won her first in Washington in 2019, then Guadalajara in 2022, Montreal and Seoul in 2023, Berlin and Toronto in 2024, when she became the first woman since Martina Hingis to retain the Canadian Open title.
In 2025, she won Austin, Charleston and Bad Homburg, where she beat Swiatek 6-4, 7-5, and in 2026 Dubai. She has also won doubles titles, several with Gauff, with whom she reached No. 1 in doubles.
Has Jessica Pegula played the WTA Finals?
Yes. In 2023, she went unbeaten in the group stage and beat Gauff in the semi-finals, before Swiatek beat her in the final. In 2024, she lost her first two matches in Riyadh and withdrew with a knee problem. 2026 is the fourth straight year she meets Gauff at the event.
Who is Jessica Pegula’s coach?
She has worked with former players Mark Merklein and Mark Knowles since February 2024, after ending her partnership with David Witt, who had coached her since 2019.
How is Jessica Pegula connected to the Buffalo Bills?
She is the daughter of Terry and Kim Pegula, who own the Buffalo Bills of the NFL, while Pegula Sports and Entertainment owns the Buffalo Sabres of the NHL. Her mother Kim, born in South Korea, suffered a cardiac arrest in June 2022.
How old is Jessica Pegula and who is her husband?
Jessica Pegula was born on February 24, 1994, in Buffalo, which makes her 32. She lives in Charleston, South Carolina.
She married Taylor Gahagen in 2021. He is vice-president of her skincare company, Ready 24, and helps run her charity, A Lending Paw. Her current ranking is on her WTA profile, and she is on Instagram as jpegula.
