Jessica Pegula’s 2024 US Open campaign has been nothing but spectacular so far as she reached her first-ever Grand Slam final. Scheduled to play against Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka, Pegula will have the entire New York City cheering for her.
Advertisement
However, the support for Pegula isn’t going to be limited to one city alone. Though it’s the entire America that’s rooting for their home star, special cheers for her have come from the New York state’s Buffalo, where she has spent a major part of her life.
It’s a known fact that Pegula’s parents own a football team in Buffalo named Buffalo Bills. The tennis star is seen supporting the team on multiple occasions and now the two have exchanged roles.
Bills’ coach McDermott, in his latest press conference, had a special message for the team owners’ daughter and expressed how proud he was ahead of her grand challenge.
“First of all, congratulations. That’s just so great to see, right? And knowing the journey that she’s been on and what her family has gone through… And (I am) just so impressed from an athletics standpoint of her poise.
“We gotta need that as a team, right? We’re gonna face adversity and that’s a part of what she needs, some of that fabric and ingredients. I am just super impressed by her,” said McDermott at the conference.
What a journey.
Keep it going, @JPegula! #USOpen pic.twitter.com/cSTFIKW8CY
— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) September 6, 2024
Pegula has also played a similar motivating role for the team during their crucial clashes. The team of the Netflix series Break Point filmed her speech for the Bills as they were set to play their NFL playoff clash. The American tennis star addressed the fact that though they were from different sporting worlds, their goal at the end of the day was the same- to achieve the most superior thing in their career.
“I know you guys want to win the Super Bowl, I want to win a grand slam. Trying to be great is hard. It’s really tough but if it was easy, everyone would be doing it. But I’d say just enjoy the journey,” Jessica told the huddle of team members during a practice session.
Acquired by Jessica’s parents Terry and Kim in the year 2014, the value of the Bills is estimated to be $4.2 billion, as calculated by Forbes in August 2024. News of the present owners wanting to sell a 25% stake in the team was also circulated recently but hasn’t been confirmed yet by either of Jessica’s parents.
Nevertheless, the Bills team will be there to cheer for Pegula and that would be the most important on Saturday afternoon.
