Throughout history, plenty of tennis players have gone on to become tournament directors after their playing days with the likes of Tommy Hass being in charge of Indian Wells and James Blake running Miami.
Although Jessica Pegula doesn’t just want to be a tournament director after her career comes to an end, she wants to own the entire event. The world No.3 spoke about her desire to keep involved in the sport post-retirement following her latest win at the Miami Open where she defeated Magda Linette 6-1, 7-5, to reach her 12th WTA 1000 quarter-final since the start of 2020. Pegula has recorded 18 wins on the WTA Tour this season which is the third-highest after Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina.
“I would love to have one there [in Buffalo],” Pegula said during her press conference. “I don’t know where because Buffalo isn’t really a tennis haven. But maybe one day. I think that’s always been something I’ve thought about, even after my career, is having a tournament.
“I think that would be really fun. I don’t think my parents are really up for it, but maybe one day I will have one or try to get something going there.”
Pegula’s family knows what is required to own and run sporting entities. Her parents Terry and Kim are currently the owners of the NFL’s Buffalo Bills and the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres. According to Forbes, Terry made huge amounts of money from oil and gas before forming a sporting empire. His real-time net worth is reported to be in the range of $6.7bn which has prompted his daughter to be referred to by some media outlets as the richest tennis player on the Tour.
“I think it would be really fun also making the connection with Toronto, Montreal, obviously Toronto being right there,” Pegula continued. “I know we alternate with the men, but it’s so close. I don’t think people realize how close it is. It’s like an hour-and-a-half drive.
“Yeah, that would be cool because I had a lot of fans in Toronto that were either people from Buffalo or associated with Buffalo just because of the proximity. So maybe one day.”
Whilst talking openly about her plans for the future, the immediate focus of the 29-year-old is on her tennis career. In Miami, she will take on Russia’s Anastasia Potapova for the second time this month. At Indian Wells, the American ousted Potapova 3-6, 6-4, 7-5.
“She’s playing pretty fearless and she’s going for her shots and she’s an aggressive baseliner. She’s going to be more comfortable playing me, as she almost beat me in Indian Wells.” Pegula said of her next opponent.
“It’s going to be another tough battle.”
Pegula has won two WTA titles so far in her career which were at the 2019 Citi Open in Washington and the 2022 Guadalajara Open in Mexico.
