For the second year in a row, Aryna Sabalenka is into the US Open final. Last year, she faced defeat against the American favorite Coco Gauff. This year, it’s Gauff’s doubles partner Jessica Pegula. The World No. 5 is into her first ever US Open final after being a seven-time quarterfinalist at all Slams. But even though the 30-year-old seems to be cruising through the season so far, there have been some dark clouds hanging over her head.

Yesterday, Jessica Pegula defeated Karolina Muchova in a tough battle that seemed to be going in the Czech player’s favor at first. But Pegula came back from a set and a break down to emerge victorious. After the match, the American sat down to have a conversation with the press, where one journalist asked her if she ever thought it wasn’t gonna happen for her.

Pegula answered, “I don’t know if I thought it’s not gonna happen but there’s definitely moments where I didn’t wanna play tennis. I didn’t really wanna do it anymore. I mean, you definitely hit those types of low moments. I’ve definitely had several of those. But in the end I always would kind of snap back, like okay, what am I talking about? I would always just kind of flip the script and I’ve always been good at doing that.”

Take 2024 as an example. Pegula had to miss the French Open after playing the Billie Jean King Cup in April, citing injury reasons. “I’m just about back to practicing normal (haven’t had any issues for weeks) but played it super safe with recovery and return to play. If I had another 5-7 days, I would have been there 100%,” she wrote on Instagram.

Career-wise, Pegula is the proud owner of 3 WTA 1000 titles among numerous others, but surviving on the tour has not been easy. She continued, “And that’s why I’ve come back from different challenges even better than before. But honestly, I’ve always felt like, not that it was never gonna happen, I almost think the opposite. I always felt like, you know what, you’ll figure it out, eventually. And that’s kind of something I’ve always told myself. I’ll figure it out. And that’s kind of my quiet kind of confidence to myself that I always have.”

Now, some might have the criticism that Pegula comes from a relatively cushier background than most. But in a recent talk, she debunked some myths.

Jessica Pegula makes it clear that despite ‘affluent’ background, she does not “have a butler”

This US Open, we’ve seen two major WTA stars take the tournament by storm. While Emma Navarro was unfortunately defeated at the hands of Aryna Sabalenka, Jessica Pegula still moves ahead. But besides their tennis, the biggest story to come out is their backgrounds.

While Navarro is the daughter of Credit One Bank’s billionaire founder Ben Navarro, Pegula is the daughter of billionaire Terry Pegula, owner of the Buffalo Bills and Buffalo Sabres. But Jessica Pegula has made it clear that she was not born with a silver spoon in her mouth.

“I did some media thing the other day, too, and they were like, ‘What’s the most annoying thing?’” Pegula said during her post-game press conference. “It’s that people think I have a butler, that I get chauffeured around. I have a private limo, that I fly private everywhere.”

But despite the claims, Pegula seems to have reached the top 10 and top 5 with her own skill and talent. What’s next for her? Maybe a US Open trophy!