For Jessica Pegula, Tennis – a World All Its Own

‘WE GET A CHANCE TO REDEEM OURSELVES ALMOST EVERY WEEK’

Whether during her stints as an Olympian in Tokyo and Paris, or being around the NFL’s Bills and NHL’s Sabres in her native Buffalo, N.Y., Jessica Pegula has seen what life is like for elite athletes in a wide variety of sports. Those experiences have provided her with a rare insider’s perspective of how things work outside the tennis world.

“That’s a cool experience being able to be around so many different sports that just work so differently,” said Pegula this week at the 2025 Credit One Charleston Open, where she’s through to the quarterfinals for the third consecutive year.

“I can’t imagine what it feels like to have to perform every four years for the Olympics, in those moments,” she continued. “In tennis, we get a chance to kind of redeem ourselves almost every week. The Olympics, when that’s your entire goal and your entire life, mentally, it’s totally different than tennis. I don’t know how they deal with that. I would be an absolute mess.”

“The Bills or the Sabres, I feel like they’re kind of spoiled compared to tennis players. They have these amazing facilities. They have everything. Tennis is just different.” — Jessica Pegula

Outside of team events like the Billie Jean King Cup and United Cup, tennis, of course, is mostly a solo effort. Even if you’re fortunate enough to travel with a coach, physio, trainer and/or family, the week-in/week-out results come down to how you perform on the court.

“As far as team sports, it’s just a totally different dynamic. There are so many players, staff, people, a lot of moving pieces, a lot of different moving parts,” she said. “The Bills or the Sabres, I feel like they’re kind of spoiled compared to tennis players. They have these amazing facilities. They have everything. Tennis is just different. You’re grinding week to week. You’re kind of in charge of your own little team, and I feel like you’re making a lot of decisions, whereas those teams are much bigger, so there’s usually other people doing that.”

“I just think tennis being an individual sport is so hard. I’m jealous of the team aspect and the camaraderie of having a team and winning with a team. Whenever we have team events in tennis, I feel like those are some of the best weeks. It’s great when you win on your own, but it’s pretty amazing when you have a team around you.”