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The world of tennis, now and then, gets to witness remarkable stories that stay in the minds of fans for years to come. And one of those remarkable events was when Jessica Pegula lifted the Canadian Open trophy this year. Given her background of successful parents, most fans always assume that she comes from privilege and fail to give her due credit for handwork and making it on her own. Despite people’s tag for her as the ‘World’s Richest Tennis Player’, according to Pegula, her achievement has come after giving 100% on the court.

In one of the podcast episodes with Pat Kiernan, the world No. 3 shares how she always had the zeal to make it to number one from a very young age.

Jessica Pegula talks about her passion for being the best before success hit her family

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In a podcast episode of Crosstown with Pat Kiernan, Jessica was asked what drives her, given that she comes from such a successful background in business. And if it was her parents that pushed her. Jessica’s parents Kim and Terry own the NHL team Buffalo Sabres and the NFL Team Buffalo Bills. Her father Terry’s net worth is around $7 billion.

To the podcast host’s question, Jessica responded, “I was always just driven from a young age even before my parents had the amount of success. I was like six or seven going to tennis camps that was like I want to be number one in the world. And I want to be a professional tennis player. And that was always been my dream. My parents always taught me to work very hard. And I think those values just have stuck with me obviously throughout my whole career.”

Even though the ‘rich’ tennis player tag has always stuck with Jessica because of her background, this disclosure clearly shows that her efforts played the primary role in her success and not her privileged background.

Read More: A Year After Mother’s Devastating Cardiac Arrest, Jessica Pegula Provides Honest Update on Her Health After Canadian Open Triumph

In the same interview, Jessica also shared how spending time with young teenagers has given her more perspective on life and her career.

Jessica talks about her experience while sharing her wisdom with teenagers

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During the interview, she talked about how usually players have a very busy schedule. But having events where players get to meet teenagers is great for them because that makes the children happy. Not only that, but children also feel like tennis is more accessible for them when they get to meet their favorite players.

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She also talked about how she would not want children to make the same mistake she did. Her mistake was being too hard on herself and getting frustrated because of that. And she shared how she hopes others won’t do that. Her candidness in the interview and being able to talk about how she is here and where she comes from shows her humility but also closes on the fact that her family had anything to do with her success. It’s clearly all her!

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