MELBOURNE: Every player at the Australian Open is under enormous stress.
From the battlers trying to keep up with mortgage payments and earn crucial rankings points, to the superstars eyeing the ultimate prizes dished out on January 25 and 26.
As a 2024 US Open finalist and the seventh seed in Melbourne, Jessica Pegula very much falls into the latter category.
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Jessica Pegula of the United States celebrates beating Maria Sakkari of Greece. Getty
But the level headed 30-year-old has an additional layer of sporting anxiety to deal with over the next fortnight.
The American's parents – Terry and Kim – are the billionaire owners of tortured NFL franchise the Buffalo Bills.
The team are yet to win a Super Bowl since joining the NFL in 1970 following the merger with the American Football League.
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Terry and Kim Pegula take the field at Orchard Park. Getty
Incredibly, and painfully, the Bills lost four consecutive Super Bowls with crack teams in 1990-93 and have not played in the big dance since.
With MVP candidate Josh Allen at quarterback, that could change in 2025 with Buffalo advancing to a divisional round clash with the Baltimore Ravens after hammering the Denver Broncos 31-7 in a wildcard game on Monday (AEDT).
"It's funny how it kind of works out that way. I'm always playing a grand slam and then watching us in the playoffs," Pegula told Stan Sport's Duncan McKenzie-McHarg on Grand Slam Daily.
Jessica Pegula with Kaiir Elam and Dion Dawkins of the Buffalo Bills. Getty
"It's very stressful! You guys always have it on TV here, which is nice. I don't have to like be trying a million different websites, VPNs and streams to kind of find the games.
"They're always on TV, which is really nice. That makes it very helpful."
Despite coming from a famous and wealthy family, Pegula tends to fly under the radar compared to some of her flashier rivals in the top 10.
She is in good touch Down Under, reaching the final of the Adelaide International and making short work of Australia's Maya Joint in a 6-3, 6-0 first round win on Monday.
Belgium's Elise Mertens awaits in the second round at Margaret Court Arena on Wednesday.
"I think the conditions suit my game, plays like medium fast, you know, the balls kind of fly through the air," Pegula said of Australia's hard courts.
Jessica Pegula chats to Stan Sport's Duncan McKenzie-McHarg. Stan
"So I think it just suits the way that I hit the ball, at least that's what I think. I always feel very comfortable playing here and every time I come here, I feel like I can play some really good tennis every day at all the different tournaments in Australia.
"So I don't know why that is, but sometimes there's just places that you play good tennis. Here is one of them."
Pegula understandably gained enormous self belief from her run to last year's US Open final, which she lost 7-5, 7-5 to reigning Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka.
Pegula reached the quarter-finals in Melbourne in 2021, 2022 and 2023 but was stunned by Clara Burel in the second round last year.
"It was awesome, I took a lot of confidence (from the US Open), but the year didn't end really the way that I wanted it to," she said.
"But I was able to take some time off in the off-season.
Jessica Pegula unleashes a serve at the Australian Open. Getty
"I played a lot of matches, I felt like through that whole summer, through the US Open and going straight into the Asian swing, it's tough.
"You get a little burned out so just trying to learn how to kind of manage that better, especially doing better at a slam.
"There's a lot of press obligations in a crazy city (New York) for a couple of weeks, but I was able to get some really good rest in the off-season and kind of reset."
