American tennis star Jessica Pegula once showed her true colours by giving her rivals a well-timed private jet ride from Texas to California. Pegula is often referred to as the ‘world’s richest tennis player’ due to her family’s extraordinary wealth, with the 31-year-old set to inherit a portion of her dad Terry Pegula’s staggering £6.65billion fortune.

Yet, her tennis achievements speak for themselves, with the American currently ranked as the world No. 6 and having finished as US Open runner-up in 2024. Pegula is currently in action at the Australian Open, where she takes on Elena Rybakina in the semi-finals on Thursday morning after beating Amanda Anisimova 6-2 7-6 (7-1) in the quarters. No matter the outcome at Rod Laver Arena, she certainly already has the respect of her peers thanks to her kind and generous gesture last year which grabbed headlines.

Pegula, who was previously ranked No. 1 in the world for doubles, went in as top seed for the singles tournament at the ATX Open in Austin in early 2025. She won the tournament while dropping just one set along the way, beating compatriot McCartney Kessler in straight sets in the final.

Along with doubles finalists Kessler, Zhang Shuai, Yue Yuan and Anna Blinkova, she then faced a gruelling 1,263-mile round trip to reach the next tournament in Indian Wells, California. That would have involved a late-night transfer in Los Angeles or making long trips to airports in Dallas and Houston, which would have negatively affected their preparation for Wednesday’s tournament start.

Pegula might have left immediately after her singles match but instead decided to wait for the doubles final’s conclusion in Austin, where Yue and Blinkova beat Kessler and Shuai 3-6 6-1 10-4. She then flew all of the players straight from Texas to California so they could make it in time.

Zhang voiced her gratitude to Pegula on Instagram, sharing an image of the jet and captioning it: “She [Pegula] could have left right after her singles final, but she is such a selfless and generous girl. This message is not to show I took the jet, [I] just wanted to appreciate and transfer the love.” Pegula responded: “You’re too cute.”

Russian Blinkova and China’s Yue shared Zhang’s story on Instagram and also thanked Pegula, with the former writing: “Thank you Jessie for your kindness and generosity.”

Her dad Terry, ranked as the 372nd wealthiest person in the world by Forbes, amassed his wealth through his ventures in the oil and gas industry. The billionaire also owns sporting giants Buffalo Bills (NFL) and Buffalo Sabres (NHL). Among the family’s lavish possessions are a £58m superyacht named Top Five II and a private jet, which Jessica also uses.