The roar of a partisan home crowd can often be enough to lift tennis players out of precarious positions and help carry them to victory.
Though perhaps not quite as vociferous as the French Open crowd, fans at the US Open have earned the grand slam a reputation as arguably the loudest tournament on the ATP and WTA Tours.
That’s particularly true if an American is playing at Arthur Ashe Stadium, the largest arena at any of the four grand slams. Frances Tiafoe said in 2023 that the capacity 23,000 fans “felt like 23 million” when they were cheering him on.
Another American to have heard that roar is Jessica Pegula, who last year reached the US Open final before falling in two close sets to Aryna Sabalenka.
For the Buffalo native, there is no place on tour quite like Flushing Meadows during the US Open.
“I love playing in New York, it’s so much fun,” Pegula told CNN Sports. “The energy there is really honestly unmatched, especially being an American and being able to play there.
“And not only play there, but have good results there and being able to go deep is something that is unlike anything else, being in New York City. So that’s always what I look forward to.
“It can be very hectic, but at the same time, it’s fun and rewarding and I just feel like every time I’m there, it’s just something special. I grew up going to that tournament and watching as a kid, so being able to play there on the biggest stages is just the best part about it.”
Pegula’s father Terry is the owner of the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres and the NFL’s Buffalo Bills, two of New York State’s major professional sports franchises. In particular, her ties to football only further endear her to the US Open crowd and Pegula has embraced it, often writing messages to the Bills on camera lenses when she wins on tour.
“I love being able to connect with Bills fans,” she said. “Being from Buffalo, tennis is not a massive sport there and to see how many fans I’ve gained just because of their connection with the Bills and I don’t know if they feel like I’m on the team as well?
“They feel like they have to root for me, but it’s still much fun and being able to hopefully make a lot of football fans tennis fans, which I think is really cool. Having that crossover effect, hearing the ‘Go Bills’ and seeing them all come, especially to New York.
“It’s pretty cool, again, to see that kind of crossover effect into a totally different sport.”
Pegula says she knows a lot of the players on the team now and, sometimes, the coaches will text to congratulate her after a win.
“It kind of feels like we’re just one giant family, you know, out there competing and trying to win,” she adds. “So it’s awesome.”
In June 2022, Pegula’s family was shaken after her mother went into cardiac arrest and was rushed to hospital. The tennis star later revealed in an article for The Players’ Tribune that her sister gave their mother CPR until the ambulance arrived and “saved her life.”
Despite the ordeal, Pegula still competed at Wimbledon that summer and later that year went on to win her first WTA 1000 title at the Guadalajara Open, which she dedicated to her mother.
“The one thing I have learned about tennis is I feel like it’s taught me throughout my whole life,” she said. “Even before all of those things … life, the ups and downs and challenges and tennis being individual, it really teaches you a lot of things.
“Going through a lot different injuries taught me a lot a different things and then with my mom’s health scare, I felt like all those things I went through prepped me a lot for handling that.
“And even though tennis will always come second to family, at the same time, I felt like it prepared me and helped me navigate and learn so many different challenges – and it still continues to this day.”
