"You are one tough cookie" - Tennis world including Gauff, Azarenka shower Jessica Pegula with support following reveal of mom's cardiac arrest
WTA
Jessica Pegula has received warm messages and words of support from her peers after revealing details about her mother Kim Pegula’s health for the first time since incident in 2022.
Kim Pegula, who is the president and owner of the NFL team Buffalo Bills and the NHL team Buffalo Sabres, suffered a cardiac arrest on June 7, 2022, on her 53rd birthday.
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Jessica Pegula opened up about the devastating incident on Tuesday, February 7, in an article for The Players’ Tribune. The World No. 4 recalled the day and lauded her sister for saving their mother’s life.
“My mom was asleep when my dad woke up to her going into cardiac arrest and she was unresponsive for quite a while. My sister gave her CPR until the ambulance arrived. She saved her life,” the tennis player wrote in the article.
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The 28-year-old also detailed her grim Wimbledon campaign, where she had to deal with the press who pestered her with painful and uncomfortable questions about Kim Pegula’s health.
“I had to deal with a lot of speculation and questions surrounding her health, even shutting down rumors that she had died. It wasn’t necessarily the most fun Wimbledon experience I remember,” she said.
The American was applauded by her colleagues for her immense display of strength. Tennis players also poured in their well wishes for Jessica Pegula and her family.
“Thanks for sharing your story Jess. You are one tough cookie. Praying for you and your family,” compatriot Lauren Davis said.
“Sending our love and support to you. Mothers are so special,” tennis legend Billie Jean King wrote.
Coco Gauff expressed her support by tweeting three heart emojis, whereas former World No.1 Victoria Azarenka posted a heart alongside a pic of Pegula and her mom in her Instagram stories.
Growing up in a household where soccer was king, my earliest memories are filled with chants from packed stadiums and the rhythm of a ball being passed across neighborhood streets. But somewhere along the way, the quiet elegance and raw emotion of tennis pulled me in. What began as a curiosity became a lifelong passion; not just for the sport itself, but for the stories it tells: of grit, of heartbreak, of improbable comebacks and human resilience.
As a tennis writer, I bring the observational lens of someone who didn’t grow up in the sport, but fell in love with it as an outsider; a perspective that lets me see both its technical beauty and its emotional depth. Over the years working with TennisUpToDate, I’ve had the privilege of reaching more than 3.5 million readers worldwide, with one of my features ranking among the site’s top three articles.
With a background in storytelling and a creative mind always searching for meaning beyond the scoreboard, I aim to craft narratives that go deeper than results and rankings. Whether it’s a rising star breaking through or a veteran fighting off Father Time, I try to capture the heartbeat behind the headlines.
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