American tennis star Jessica Pegula’s billionaire dad’s net worth has soared to almost 11 figures. Pegula, ranked world No. 5 in the women’s singles rankings, has long had to live with the tag: ‘the world’s richest tennis player’.
That’s due to her family’s extraordinary wealth, with the 32-year-old set to inherit some of her dad Terrence Pegula’s staggering fortune. Terrence, known as Terry, recently saw his wealth increase by $1.7billion (£1.3bn), amounting to a gargantuan $9.3bn (£6.9bn). With him now approaching the $10bn mark, Forbes currently lists him as the 367th richest person in the world.
Terry amassed his wealth through his ventures in the oil and gas industry. The billionaire also owns sporting giants Buffalo Bills (NFL) and Buffalo Sabres (NHL).
Yet, Pegula’s family wealth hasn’t deterred her from chasing her dreams on the court, having been ranked as high as No. 3 in singles and No. 1 in doubles. Her success in February at the Dubai Tennis Championships, where she defeated Elina Svitolina 6-2 6-4 in the final, marked her 10th career singles title.
Pegula also reached the Australian Open semi-final exit earlier this year, while her best Grand Slam finish to date came in 2024 when she reached the US Open final. Her best result in doubles was reaching the French Open final in 2022.
The American is currently in action at Indian Wells, California. There, she faces Belinda Bencic of Switzerland in the round of 16 on Wednesday evening.
Her dad’s enormous net worth has led some to question why she still puts so much effort into her tennis career. Pegula recently addressed those questions, saying: “I don’t know. It’s something I’ve loved to do since I was a kid, since before I had anything about my family or money or the teams or stuff like that.
“I wanted to be No. 1 in the world when I was, like, six years old. It’s been my dream for as long as I can remember to be No. 1, to be able to play on tour, to be able to win Slams. I mean, it’s pretty cool that I can look back and say that I’m putting myself in contention to do that, living out my dream. Yeah, it’s just honestly been a goal of mine since I was a little girl.”