The finalists at the ATX Open in Austin were spared a grueling late-night trip to Indian Wells following Sunday’s action after world No. 4 Jessica Pegula flew them to the tournament in the Californian desert on a private jet.
Pegula, whose billionaire parents own the NFL’s Buffalo Bills and the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres, won the singles title in Austin by defeating fellow American McCartney Kessler 7-5, 6-2. But Pegula hung around for the doubles final, where Kessler and Zhang Shuai lost to Yuan Yue and Anna Blinkova.
With the players facing a quick turnaround ahead of the Indian Wells main draw beginning Wednesday, Pegula offered to fly all of them to California for the WTA 1000 tournament.
Zhang thanked Pegula for her generosity on Instagram, adding that the players would otherwise have faced a late-night layover in Los Angeles or trips to nearby airports in Dallas and Houston.
“You know she can leave away right after her singles final, but she is such a selfless and generous girl,” Zhang wrote. “This message is NOT to show I took the jet, just wanted to appreciate and transferring the love.”
Blinkova shared Zhang’s post on her own Instagram story and thanked Pegula, who has amassed more than $17 million in prize money in her career.
Yue also expressed gratitude to Pegula on social media for the luxurious ride.
“Otherwise, we would all have been on the road for at least nine hours,” she said.
Reuters contributed to this report.
