Jessica Pegula enjoys competing at Hard Rock Stadium so much, she might continue doing so after her tennis career is over. Pegula, the Boca Raton resident who blitzed Leylah Fernandez (Boynton Beach) 6-2, 6-2 to open Sunday’s Miami Open stadium court slate, is the daughter of Terry and Kim Pegula — owners of the Buffalo Bills and Buffalo Sabres. While Jessica’s sister Laura is the sibling most likely to take over the Bills someday — Laura already holds a small ownership stake and has been attending league meetings for years — Jessica, 32, on Sunday hinted at a potential role with the organization when playing days come to an end. Pegula, asked after Sunday’s match about how her exposure to the inner workings of professional team sports has helped her tennis career, gave the following reply: “I don’t really know if it really has helped me at all. I mean, maybe more my tennis career now might help me in the future, if I ever do anything with the management side of the Bills and Sabres, just being an athlete, and being able to be around, being on [WTA] Player Council, knowing the ins and outs, having relationships with all the tournaments, and all these different events, and the [Grand] Slams. I actually think it will probably … help me in the future, maybe, with the management side.” She would certainly know her way around the rival Miami Dolphins’ home stadium if and when that day arrives. Pegula, seeded fifth, is in the midst of a yet another deep Miami Open run. This is her seventh appearance in the event. She reached the championship round in 2025, losing to Aryna Sabalenka in the final, and was a semifinalist in 2022 and 2024. And thanks to her no-drama domination of 26th-seeded Fernandez on Sunday, she will face Jaqueline Cristian in the Round of 16 on Monday. Cristian was surviving a third-set tiebreaker in her Round-of-32 match against Ekaterina Alexandrova at the same time Pegula was making quick work of Fernandez. “I think I’m playing some of the best tennis I’ve played, all around,” Pegula said. “Hitting both shots — forehand, backhand — [my] serve, moving really well. I just think I’ve become a much better player. And I think you have to be in order to compete at a high level with the depth in the woman’s game. So, yeah, I think I’m playing some top tennis.” The results back that up. She reached the semifinals of this year’s Australian Open, losing to eventual champion Elena Rybakina in straight sets. A month later, she won the Dubai Championships, dropping just two sets en route to her fourth career WTA 1000 championship. Both Rybakina and the top-seeded Sabalenka were placed on Pegula’s side of the draw, so if she’s going to get back to the final, she likely will have earned it. And given her top form and her fondness for playing tennis in Miami’s football stadium, don’t bet against it. “I like the fast courts,” Pegula said, when asked why this event is such a good fit for her. “I think I’m used to playing in this area. I practice here. I’ve been here for a while now, since I was 12 or 13 years old, so I’m used to the conditions. And yeah, the speed of the court, I think it stays low and kind of skids a bit, and I think that kind of feeds into my game style.” Pegula entered the event ranked sixth in the world. She has been as high as third earlier in her career, and suggested she’s playing better now. A big-time breakthrough — either here or in a Grand Slam event — seems more likely than ever in 2026. “I think you always put a little bit more pressure on yourself, but at the same time, you do feel like there’s no pressure,” Pegula said, when asked specifically about playing world No 1s. “So it’s a weird kind of balance, I think, where sometimes you start off playing really well, and you’re like, ‘Oh, wow, this is great.’ But then, you know, No. 1’s usually at some point do kind of stuff it up or put pressure on you to close out games or sets or matches. “And I think that’s where sometimes you can kind of feel the disparity or the difference of just playing someone with being No. 1 and all this experience and Grand Slams and all this stuff, and then playing, you know, not used to that. So, yeah, I don’t know, it’s an interesting feeling. I think it’s always fun, though. I mean, you have nothing to lose. And I think you always have to use that to your advantage.”
This story was originally published March 22, 2026 at 4:26 PM.
John Devine has worked with the Miami Herald since 1996. He has worked as a Broward sports editor, Broward news editor, assistant sports editor and deputy sports editor before he became executive sports editor in 2021.