Jessica Pegula faces Emma Navarro tonight in an all-American quarterfinal at the 2026 US Open.
The 2024 runner-up has reached the final eight after dropping just one set throughout the tournament.
Pegula enters the match with a perfect 4-0 career head-to-head record against Navarro, including a straight-sets victory over her just weeks ago at the Cincinnati Open.
All About Jessica Pegula’s Mother Kim and Her Health Struggles
Jessica’s mother, Kim Pegula, is the wife of Terry Pegula and the co-owner of the NFL’s Buffalo Bills and NHL’s Buffalo Sabres.
Kim is of Korean descent and arrived in New York in 1974 after being adopted by Ralph and Marilyn Kerr, a Canadian-born couple who had moved to Fairport.
In June 2022, Kim suffered a devastating cardiac arrest that resulted in a severe brain injury and left her with long-term effects on her health and daily life.
On the morning of her 53rd birthday in June 2022, Kim went into cardiac arrest while sleeping at her home in Florida.
When her husband, Terry Pegula, woke up and found her unresponsive, Jessica’s younger sister, Kelly, was the first to react.
She immediately administered life-saving CPR until paramedics arrived and restored Kim’s heartbeat.
Doctors later told the family that Kelly’s quick actions were a miracle that helped keep their mother alive.
Kim spent a week in the intensive care unit and another two weeks in the hospital before eventually transitioning to a rehabilitation facility.
Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
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The prolonged lack of oxygen during the cardiac arrest caused a significant brain injury. In a post written by Jessica for The Players’ Tribune, she explained that despite her mother’s remarkable recovery, Kim continues to deal with memory issues and significant expressive aphasia.
“Today, my mom is still in recovery and although it is the same answer every time someone asks me, it is true, she is improving every day. She is dealing with significant expressive aphasia and significant memory issues. She can read, write, and understand pretty well, but she has trouble finding the words to respond. It is hard to deal with and it takes a lot of patience to communicate with her, but I thank God every day that we can still communicate with her at all,” she wrote.
The emotional weight of the ordeal was so significant that it even left the current World No. 3 questioning her future in professional tennis.
“Suddenly, I went from “Let’s celebrate the top 10 in the world” to “Do I need to start thinking about my career after tennis a lot sooner than I thought…” she stated.
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