Who is the mysterious lady sitting in Jessica Pegula's box? Everything you need to know about her and her connection to Jessica

It was an unforgettable US Open for Jessica Pegula. She started the tournament in good form and delivered the latest cracker of the ongoing event, which has already seen Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic eliminated. In her quarterfinal match, she went one better by defeating world number one Iga Swiatek to secure a place in the semifinals against Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic.

It was encouraging to see the amount of support she received in the tournament. In front of her home crowd, Pegula was a fan favorite and she lived up to their expectations. But aside from the support of the fans, Pegula also has the support of a mysterious person who has been spotted in her box every time she steps on court at the US Open. Who is this person?

Pegula has a sister named Kelly. Although she has no experience in tennis, she has wholeheartedly supported Pegula during the ongoing US Open. Kelly Pegula has made her presence known during her sister's matches and has been vocal in her support. Kelly is the third child of Terry Pegula's second wife, Kim Pegula. She is a fashion designer and an aspiring singer.

Kelly Pegula grew up in the United States with her brother and sister. In addition to her fashion design degree, she also holds a bachelor's degree in organizational and professional communication from Pennsylvania State University in 2020. She currently lives in West Palm Beach, Florida, and traveled to New York to cheer on her sister. Last year, Jessica had praised Kelly for her vital support of her family, which saved them from tragedy.

In June 2022, Jessica and Kelly's mother, Kim, suffered a cardiac arrest. Kim, co-owner of the NFL's Buffalo Bills and the National Hockey League's Buffalo Sabres, reportedly had to be hospitalized. In an article in The Players' Tribune last year, Jessica revealed that her father woke up to find her in cardiac arrest while Kim was sleeping. “She was unresponsive for quite a long time,” Jessica had written. At this point, her sister Kelly took matters into her own hands.

“My sister performed CPR until the ambulance arrived. She saved her life. Even though she doesn't like to take credit for this terrible situation, she certainly saved her life. The paramedics who then arrived and were able to restore the heartbeat did crucial work.” Jessica had revealed that the two sisters were once connected professionally.

In 2016, Kelly opened a chain of restaurants called Healthy Scratch in LECOM Harborcenter with Jessica. It offered smoothies, cold-pressed juices, juice shots, salads, acai bowls and wraps. A food truck followed in 2017. Next came cafe locations at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center and Buffalo General Medical Center in 2018 and 2019, respectively. A limited-service location also opened later that year at Revolution Indoor Cycling on Delaware Avenue. However, after six years in business, it closed in May 2022.

Kelly is also the founder of a sports company called Pegula Sports and Entertainment and is actively involved as CEO. With all the support, Jessica Pegula is just one step away from reaching her first career Grand Slam final after her fabulous performance against Swiatek. Let's see how it went.

Jessica Pegula breaks the quarter-final curse and is in the Grand Slam semi-finals

Prior to this event, Pegula had never reached the semifinals of a Grand Slam tournament, despite having been there for quite some time. Seeded sixth, Pegula has lost six quarterfinals before, including two in each of the last two seasons. However, her ranking improved to No. 3 in the world and she has won WTA Masters 1000 tournaments – just below Grand Slam rank. After her fourth-round victory over Diana Shnaider, the American star showed what it takes to overcome the quarterfinal hurdle.

She said: “Well, I always say I just need to win one game to get to the semifinals and then everything is solved, right? But I mean, I don't really care. I mean, every game is every game. I've always played it that way. It just happens to be the quarterfinals. But at the same time, it's great to be able to say I've been in this position many, many times. So I just have to keep working on myself and try to play my game. And when you're out there, it's just one point at a time.” In fact, she did it.

Pegula defeated the Polish prodigy 6-2, 6-4 in just under 90 minutes. The American took full advantage of Iga's uncharacteristic 41 unforced errors. The latter had problems controlling her forehand in particular. On the other hand, Pegula dominated from the start and managed a break in the opening game by taking advantage of a double fault from Swiatek. Pegula grabbed the first set in just 37 minutes, taking the lead after her second break and moving 3-0 up.

Iga attempted a comeback in the second set, but Pegula kept the pressure on, securing the decisive break to level at 3-3 before continuing to cruise to victory. Eventually, Pegula served for the match, but she converted her third match point to secure her place in the semifinals. She was the fourth American to reach the semifinals this year, joining Emma Navarro, Frances Tiafoe and Taylor Fritz. This brings back memories of 2003.

This edition of the US Open was the last time that multiple American men and women made it to a Grand Slam. Eventual champion Andy Roddick, Andre Agassi, Lindsay Davenport and Jennifer Capriati were among those in attendance. Pegula was understandably delighted. “I was [to the quarter-finals] so many damn times, but I always lost. Finally – finally – I can say I'm a semi-finalist. Thanks to the crowd, you carried me through the last game. To do that in prime time against the best player in the world – that's crazy, but I knew I could do it,” she said after the win. Pegula will face Muchova on September 5th to continue her path to the title.