For the past few days, my family and I have been watching the final few rounds of the 2024 United States Open Tennis Championship. After watching Aryna Sabalenka beat Jessica Pegula to win the women’s final, I learned that Pegula actually has Asian ancestry through her mother.
Her parents, Terry and Kim Pegula, are the owners of the Buffalo Bills in the National Football League, the Buffalo Sabres in the National Hockey League, and the Buffalo Bandits in the National Lacrosse League. Pegula’s mother, Kim, was born in Seoul, South Korea. However, after being abandoned at the age of five, she was adopted by an American family in the United States. Based on a DNA test, one of Kim Pegula’s biological parents was Japanese.
Jessica Pegula’s impressive performance during this year’s U.S. Open increased her ranking to the top three in the world. The U.S. Open was the first time that Pegula had reached the finals of any Grand Slam singles tournament. Nonetheless, she has had an immensely successful tournament and looks to continue finding success in the future.