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American tennis ace Jessica Pegula once showed her true character by offering rivals a well-timed private jet ride from Texas to California. The 31-year-old is often labelled the 'world's richest tennis player' thanks to her family's immense wealth, with Pegula in line to receive part of her father Terry Pegula's eye-watering £6.65billion fortune.

However, her accomplishments on the court stand on their own merit, with the American ranked as the world No. 6 and having reached the US Open final in 2024. Pegula is now competing at the Australian Open, facing Elena Rybakina in Thursday morning's semi-final after defeating Amanda Anisimova 6-2 7-6 (7-1) in the quarter-finals.

Regardless of the outcome at Rod Laver Arena, she's already earned the admiration of fellow players following her kind and generous act last year which grabbed headlines. Pegula, who previously held the world No. 1 ranking in doubles, entered the ATX Open singles draw in Austin as the top seed in early 2025.

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She claimed the title while losing only one set throughout the tournament, beating fellow American McCartney Kessler in straight sets in the final. Along with doubles finalists Kessler, Zhang Shuai, Yue Yuan and Anna Blinkova, she then faced a gruelling 1,263-mile round trip to reach the next tournament in Indian Wells, California.

That would have meant a late-night connection in Los Angeles or making long trips to airports in Dallas and Houston, which would have negatively impacted their preparation for Wednesday's tournament start.

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Pegula could have left immediately after her singles match but chose instead to wait for the doubles final's finish in Austin, where Yue and Blinkova defeated Kessler and Shuai 3-6 6-1 10-4. She then flew all of the players directly from Texas to California so they could arrive on time.

Zhang expressed her appreciation to Pegula on Instagram, posting a picture of the jet and writing: "She [Pegula] could have left right after her singles final, but she is such a selfless and generous girl. This message is not to show I took the jet, [I] just wanted to appreciate and transfer the love." Pegula replied: "You’re too cute."

Russian Blinkova and China's Yue shared Zhang's story on Instagram and also thanked Pegula, with the former writing: "Thank you Jessie for your kindness and generosity."

Her father Terry, listed as the 372nd wealthiest person in the world by Forbes, amassed his wealth through his ventures in the oil and gas industry. The billionaire also owns sporting giants Buffalo Bills (NFL) and Buffalo Sabres (NHL). The family's extravagant assets include a £58million superyacht called Top Five II and a private jet, which Jessica also uses.