Tennis loves a teenage prodigy, whether it’s Rafael Nadal, Serena Williams or Coco Gauff. Pegula, though, had to wait—and work—for her success, not cracking the top 100 in the world rankings until 2019, when she was 24. Next came a meteoric rise to No. 3 in singles in 2022 and No. 1 in doubles in 2023. “Looking back four years later about where my mindset was, I don’t know if I really, truly believed it,” she says. “It’s just been a very long journey.” That trek began in Buffalo, New York, where Pegula’s parents, Terry and Kim, are the billionaire owners of both the NFL’s Bills and the NHL’s Sabres. Pegula can more than stand on her own now, however, making an estimated $6 million from endorsements and appearances on top of $6 million in 2023 prize money. She also owns a skin care line, Ready 24, and sits on the board of the Asian American Pacific Islander Tennis Association. “Athletes are becoming more than one-dimensional, becoming many different things and showing their interests on and off the field,” she says. “And I think it’s great.”