Jessica Pegula On Tennis Travel And Business Hustle

For 10 months of the year, American tennis star Jessica Pegula travels the world. The No. 3-ranked player landed a new sponsorship deal with World of Hyatt that makes all that travel easier. And more comfortable.

“It is super natural,” Pegula tells me from Strasbourg, one week before she heads to Paris for Roland Garros, of adding a travel partner to her business portfolio. “It couldn’t be more natural, I think. We live in and out of hotel rooms for most of the year, not being home a lot. For me it was a super easy fit to partner with Hyatt.”

As part of the deal, Pegula will become a World of Hyatt ambassador and participate in luxury experiences for guests, including private tennis clinics. Adding a new business partner, though, that’s something Pegula has remained focused on throughout her career.

Pegula says that since he broke through on the tour later than many players, not making a major splash until about age 25, the now-31-year-old does as many business deals as possible. “Maybe it is different for girls who break out at 18 and do a lot [of deals]

and then tone it down,” she says. “For me, breaking through and being a little bit older, I always liked to say yes to everything. I have learned to say no to more things, but I am a bit of a workaholic. I like to work and am one of the players who likes to do a little more.”

While Pegula has learned to balance her time on and off the court, her perspective of the business side of tennis is important. “I have always felt as an athlete I owe that time back because they are improving me and improving whatever they are doing,” Pegula says about business relationships. “You have to give those people your time, as they are doing something really great for you.”

Throughout the process, Pegula says she probably get into the details of deal more than other players, but it is all so she can really make a connection with people within the brand. “I don’t want to be that person who is showing up to just show up,” she says. “It makes me feel a lot more comfortable when doing events to have information and not bluff my way through it. It keeps it more natural, and you can develop long-term relationships. It is really important for me to keep those connections you are making with people organic and honest.”

That’s why Pegula says a partnership with Hyatt is exciting. “Traveling week in and week out can be draining and tiring, not being able to go home all the time,” she says. “Having a great place to come back to, to relax and recover and recharge is important.”

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The now-married Pegula says traveling is harder than it once was and is something she looks at as more essential to do right than she did before. “Maybe it is getting older, but having a good bed and a good pillow is really important,” she says. “Maybe I didn’t worry about that when I was 20, but being in my 30s now, that stuff is a priority.”

Part of that priority is placing a focus on recovery and rest throughout tournaments, something she’s able to when she feels comfortable with where she’s staying. “I look forward to traveling more if the accommodations are nice,” she says. “It makes me more excited to travel.”

Pegula has always chosen hotels, valuing the ease and accessibility of amenities on site. When it comes time to decide where in a city to stay, Pegula says she’s always a bit torn. “I like to have my cake and eat it too, in that I like to walk to places but don’t love the traffic aspect,” she says. So, Pegula is happy to let Hyatt take care of the details.

“Wherever they want me to be, I will be there,” she says. “I am not going to get picky.”

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