Even though Jessica Pegula didn’t leave Arthur Ashe Stadium with the US Open trophy in hand, her husband’s day was won thanks to Stephen Curry.
The two-time MVP and four-time NBA champion and his wife, Ayesha, were in attendance at Arthur Ashe Stadium for the women’s final and watched Pegula lose to No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka 7-5, 7-5 on Saturday night.
Pegula had previously met Curry in Paris during the Olympics, where Curry won his first Olympic medal – gold – with the U.S. men’s basketball team.
The couple sat behind the baselines and had the chance to chat further with Pegula before the match, and later the American’s husband, Taylor Gahagan, got to meet his hero.
“My husband’s iPhone is called Steph Curry, because he loves Steph Curry,” Pegula said, according to the Associated Press. “If you Bluetooth it or send it or AirDrop it, it’s ‘Steph Curry’s iPhone.’ So I left a little early and he texted me and he was so excited. He wouldn’t say anything. I was like, ‘Please tell me you didn’t tell him about the iPhone thing.’ He was like, ‘Oh, yeah, I did.’”
“I thought it was really cute,” Pegula added. “He was like, ‘No, he loved it.’ I was like, ‘Really? Or did he really think you were a little crazy?’ I guess he thought it was kind of funny.”
Gahagen, who married the tennis star in 2021, previously worked for Pegula’s parents — Buffalo Bills owners Terry and Kim Pegula — at their sports and entertainment management company for nearly a decade, according to People.
Currently, Gahagen serves as vice president of his wife’s skincare brand, Ready 24, and helps Pegula run her charitable foundation, A Lending Paw.
It was a light-hearted and humorous moment to help Pegula dispel any disappointment after losing what was the world number six’s first Grand Slam final.
Sabalenka was the favourite heading into the final Grand Slam of the year in Flushing and the Belarusian was seeking revenge after losing the 2023 women’s final to Coco Gauff.
Sabalenka got off to a flying start, winning five straight games to take the first set.
However, that didn’t completely deter Pegula, who took a 3-0 lead in the final set and then held it at 5-3, looking promising to force a third set.
But Sabalenka managed to pull herself together and get back into the game.
