American tennis player Jessica Pegula has chosen not to stay in the same hotel as other players during Wimbledon. She believes that where she stays can have a big impact on how well she performs in the tournament. Pegula, currently ranked world No. 3, comes from a wealthy family—her parents, who own several sports teams including the NFL’s Buffalo Bills, are worth £5.5 billion.
Despite her family’s wealth, Jessica has made a name for herself in tennis, winning multiple singles and doubles titles. She reached the US Open final last year and made it to the Wimbledon quarter-finals in 2023. This year, she hopes to go even further and thinks that staying in a hotel she’s comfortable with—away from other players—could give her an edge.
Pegula said, “We’re either playing or in our hotel rooms, so where we stay is a big part of our lives. As I’ve gotten older, having a good hotel has become more important to me.
When you’re 20 and just starting out, you don’t really mind the conditions—you’re just excited to be on tour and working hard. But once you hit 30, things like having a good pillow really start to matter.”
This year, Pegula has decided against staying in the official tournament hotel and instead is living elsewhere for the duration of the competition, a rogue decision that she thinks will only benefit her.
Pegula explained that being away from other players is really important to her. She said it’s one of the main reasons she stopped staying in the official player hotels.
She shared that staying at those hotels can be mentally exhausting—not because anyone is doing anything wrong, but just because you’re constantly surrounded by the same people. She compared it to working with someone and then having to see them all day: at breakfast, during practice, at the gym, lunch, the locker room, the physio room, and even in the hallways and elevators. It can feel overwhelming.
Pegula added that most people don’t realize how draining it is to constantly be around the same people you’re competing against every week. She said it’s not normal to spend that much time with your coworkers—especially in such a competitive environment. Since tennis players see each other almost every week, being around them non-stop at hotels can become overwhelming. She admitted that after a while, it gets to the point where “you’re ready to lose it.”
Pegula used the same approach at the French Open, choosing to stay near the Champs-Elysees instead of the player hotel. However, she was knocked out in the fourth round by rising star Lois Boisson.
But at Wimbledon, she won’t have to worry about facing Boisson again—France’s No. 1 player failed to get a wildcard and was eliminated in the qualifying rounds.
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