BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — Jessica Pegula began her U.S. Open title quest Tuesday, advancing to the second round with a 6-2, 6-2 win against Camila Giorgi.
Pegula is the top-seeded American in the tournament, ranked No. 3 in the Women’s Tennis Association. Born in Buffalo, the daughter of Bills and Sabres owners Terry and Kim Pegula, has reached the quarterfinals in each of her past four Grand Slam tournaments. She is coming off her third career victory in Montreal, which included a win against world No. 1 Iga Swiatek.
Pegula will play her second-round match Wednesday against either Patricia Maria Tig from Romania or Canadian Rebecca Marino. The women’s final is Sept. 9 at Arthur Ashe Stadium in Flushing Meadows, two nights before the Bills open their season playing the Jets in the Meadowlands.
PRIZE MONEY
Total player compensation is rising to a record $65 million, up from about $60 million in 2022. This is the 50th anniversary of the U.S. Open becoming the sport’s first event to pay women and men the same, and both singles champions will get $3 million in 2023. That’s below the pre-pandemic pay of $3.9 million for each winner in 2019.
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Jonah Bronstein joined the WIVB roster in 2022 as a digital sports reporter. Born in Western New York, he has covered the Bills, Sabres, Bandits, Bisons, colleges, high schools and other notable sporting events in the region for publications including The Associated Press, The Buffalo News and Niagara Gazette since 2005. Read more of his work here.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)