Jessica Pegula, tennis player and daughter of the Buffalo Bills owner Terry Pegula, has taken aim at the Miami Dolphins following her latest victory.
Pegula is currently playing in Miami and she made her third semi-final appearance in four years at the Miami Open. She secured a three-set victory against Alex Eala at the Hard Rock Stadium on Thursday night.
That means she will face the formidable Aryna Sabalenka on Saturday to see who will win the entire tournament.
The final will take place in the Miami Gardens stadium which is also the home of NFL team the Miami Dolphins.
Speaking on Wednesday after she beat Emma Raducanu, she showed her interest in the NFL by taking a swipe at the Dolphins, which will have made her dad proud.
“Thank you guys so much for coming out. I love playing here. I love playing at home. I love getting wins in the Dolphins‘ stadium, just saying. Sorry guys,” said Pegula while chuckling.
“I always play really well here. I really do, and you guys always come out and support me so much.”
A complicated relationship
Despite their unwavering support, Pegula once revealed that her relationship with her father, the billionaire owner of the Buffalo Bills, wasn’t always smooth when it came to tennis.
In a 2021 interview on the Bills Pod Squad podcast, Pegula candidly discussed her father’s influence on her career, admitting that they had clashed on the tennis court.
“Dad and I are like oil and water on the tennis court – it does not mix well,” Jessica said.
Despite this, she acknowledged his role in pushing her to succeed, saying, “He definitely always pushed me to do better. To work hard, always work hard, you can always outwork somebody. He’s very old school.”
While her father emphasized hard work, her mother, Kim Pegula, took a more nurturing approach, focusing on Pegula‘s health and fitness.
“You were more off-court,” Pegula said of her mother’s role. “Like the diet, the recovery, the training, and stuff like that.”
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