Jessica Pegula Q&A: Her world ranking, Billie Jean King Cup, Buffalo Bills ... and Dolphins
DELRAY BEACH — While Team USA hosts Austria in the Friday/Saturday Billie Jean King Cup qualifier at the Delray Beach Tennis Center, Jessica Pegula and Coco Gauff are the real hosts.
Gauff hails from Delray Beach; her doubles buddy, Pegula, the No. 3 singles player in the world, is a transplanted Buffalonian who has lived in Boca Raton since she was 13.
The 29-year-old late bloomer has a rabid fan base in Buffalo as her father and mother, Terry and Kim Pegula, own the NFL's Buffalo Bills and NHL's Sabres. Kim suffered cardiac arrest at the family's home in June 2022, according to an article written in February by Jessica in The Players Tribune, and is dealing with memory issues.
Jessica was born in Buffalo but the family moved to Pittsburgh when she was 2 and Hilton Head, S.C., at 8. She became a Boca girl at age 13 when she decided to make tennis her career.
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Pegula, who rose to prominence in 2022 after years of being off the grid, is enjoying a super consistent start to 2023.
She’s been to the quarterfinals or better in every event, making the semifinals in her last two outings — the Miami Open and last week’s Charleston clay court tourney.
Despite her big ranking, Pegula still is trying to advance to her first Grand Slam semifinal. Soon after the Billie Jean King Cup, formerly named the Federation Cup, Pegula will head overseas for the European clay court season that culminates in late May with the French Open.Thursday’s draw for the Billie Jean King Cup revealed Pegula facing Austria’s Sinja Kraus in the second match Friday night. Gauff kicks it off at 6 p.m., against Julia Grabher, the top Austrian player, who's ranked 78th.
Grabher is the lone Austrian woman ranked in the top 150. But the Austrians can't be overlooked; they stunned the USA in 2002.
“We can't take them lightly because we know what can happen in the Billie Jean King Cup,” said coach Kathy Rinaldi, who hails from Stuart. “We respect them. They've come here, they've got one team with one goal.’’
The USA has won a record 18 titles in this storied 60-year world competition and can advance to the 12-country Finals in November.
After Wednesday’s USA practice was washed out by rain, Pegula, who lives in West Boca, sat down with The Palm Beach Post for this Q&A:
Q: Why did your family choose Boca Raton?
"For tennis and development, there were so many academies in Florida at the time. So many places to train. But it did help and opened my world to international players. Before, in Hilton Head, I was playing Southern sectionals, nationals. Moving to here — it sounds silly because I was so young — it opened my world. Because now you’re playing against the whole world. The academy I was at — ITA in Delray — was all international players from all different countries and a lot of them barely spoke English. It was a totally different experience. It matured me very fast, which tennis has a way of doing. It’s the age you have to start playing bigger tournaments and challenging yourself."
Q: The Buffalo Bills' twitter handle tweets out your successes. How does it feel having Buffalo behind you?
"Buffalo is funny. It’s a small city — a good neighborhood kind of feel where everyone knows each other. But there’s so many people from Buffalo who now live somewhere else. I’ve built such a good fan base there and the fans travel real well. Every tournament I go to, there’s always a Bills or Sabres logo hat yelling at me that they’re from Buffalo. Being so close to Toronto, a lot of people when I play in Canada, I get it, too. Even though it’s a small-type city, the fan base feels big when I’m traveling."
Q: But now you’ve been living in Dolphins country and coming off a season in which Buffalo eliminated Miami from the playoffs (34-31)?
"The Bills and Dolphins don’t get along very well. They’re (AFC East) division rivals. I follow them because I’m here. I always get a lot of crap from Coco’s family because they’re Dolphins fans. So she’s giving me crap that they’re a little bit better now, saying 'we’re coming for you.' I’m like, 'yeah, whatever.' But I’ve seen more games in the Dolphins' stadium than the Bills' stadium the last few years because I’m here training and the schedule has matched up."
Q: Are your Bills stuck behind teams like the Chiefs?
"They’re all really close — KC, Cincinnati and us. It’s sports. A touchdown here or there, a bad penalty can switch momentum in big games. Last year was a tough year for us because there was a lot going on with my mom and Damar (Hamlin, Bills' safety). At the end of the year, emotionally, I think we tapped out. It was a really hard year.
But we have a great team. (Quarterback) Josh Allen is amazing. He’s a superstar and he’s up there with the best quarterbacks. I’ve only met him once because a lot of times we had COVID restrictions. Hopefully, we’ll have a better year next season.’’
Q: Ironically, you lived in Pittsburgh rooting for the hometown teams?
"I grew up a Steelers fan and Penguins fan. Sidney Crosby started playing. That’s how I got into hockey being a Pens fan and Steelers fan. That’s probably really horrible. But I’ve completely flipped now and there’s no worries."
Pegula becoming regular semifinalist
Q: You’ve made the semifinals of three of your last four events? How do you view that?
"I feel I had a great tournament in Miami. To make the semis of singles and win doubles (with Gauff), it was two great weeks. I feel confident. I’ve already made more semifinals than last year so I feel I’m trending in the right direction. I couldn’t ask for a much better start to the year. Obviously, I would’ve loved to win an event but can’t complain that I’m giving myself chances every week."
Q: Coco commented in Miami she’s amazed how “chill” you remain on the court and has learned from that. That true?
"It’s how I am. Growing up, I would say I had a personality crisis on court. I’d be pretty calm and coaches would tell me it looks like you don’t want to be here, that you’re not showing enough energy. I had to find myself. But gaining confidence, I’ve grown into it. I know when I have to get fired up or get a little frustrated but also be calm and confident in my abilities. It’s been a journey with my demeanor, from 'I didn’t want to be here.' I wanted to be there but I just didn’t want to get fired up. Now people compliment me on it. it’s funny that was the No. 1 issue — my attitude."
Q: What’s the step you need to make to win a Grand Slam?
"Every event I want to win, not just Grand Slams. But last year it started shifting where I want to do better in Slams. I want to win or at least make it to a final. The margins are so small. Women’s tennis, the depth is tough. (Iga) Swiatek was dominating last year and now (Aryna) Sabalenka and (Elena) Rybakina are. I’ve been close. I just need a little more belief in certain moments of those matches."
Q: What’s with this spring rain in South Florida?
"It’s a little bizarre it’s raining so much. I feel like it’s usually in the summer we get this kind of rain. This is like cooler weather and it’s actually spring. It’s throwing me off a bit. It makes it tough to get in some practice this week. But both teams are in the same boat."
Billie Jean King Cup Qualifier
Delray Beach Tennis Center, Friday-Saturday
U.S. vs. Austria
ticketmaster.com/billie-jean-king-cup-tickets/artist/2823005?global=true
2-day tickets: $100-$300 ($500-$700 with hospitality package)Friday only: $65-$288Saturday only: $65-$305
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Jessica Pegula ready for Billie Jean King Cup qualifier in Delray Beach
