Jessica pegula a top American tennis player has faced her share of challenges and criticisms in her career despite coming from a wealthy family her parents own the Buffalo Bill's pegula success in tennis isn't something money can buy her journey to becoming one of the best players in the world has been a hard-fought One pula's path to the top hasn't been easy she didn't break into the top 100 players until her seventh year on tour it wasn't until she was 27 that she established herself as one of the world's top players and it took her nearly a decade to reach Grand Slam quarterfinals consistently however she lost in six quarterfinals leading some to label her as a disappointment but pegula's persistence has given her another chance to rewrite the story of her career at the US Open on Monday heula defeated Diana schneer with a solid 6 to4 6-2 Victory earning her a spot in the US Open quarterfinals once again she now faces top seated ostic pegula is determined to learned from her past experiences and approached this match with a different mindset last year pegula faced criticism after losing in the wimbl in quarterfinals she had a 4 to1 lead in the third set against marquet Dev andova But ultimately lost Bond drova went on to win the title while the loss was disappointing it's important to remember that pegula wasn't even expected to reach the second week of grand slams until 2021 since then she has reached six grand and slam quarterfinals in 3 years raising expectations for her performance to address her struggles pegula made significant changes at the beginning of this year after a second round exit at the Australian Open she parted ways with her longtime coach David wit unfortunately just as she was adjusting to her new coaching team pegula suffered a rib injury and missed the entire European clay season this setback left her questioning whether she was on the right path I was definitely questioning everything at that point hey admitted I lost some confidence but I've shown in the past that I can bounce back after injuries or setbacks pegula focused on finding balance with her new coaching team and worked hard to regain her form pegula's efforts paid off after a disappointing second round exit at the Olympics she bounced back by defending her title at the Canadian open and reaching the final in Cincinnati she has carried this momentum into the US Open where she has reached the quarterfinals without dropping a set regard of what happens next pegula will leave New York as the top ranked American woman reflecting on her journey pegula expressed pride in her ability to overcome tough moments earlier this year she also addressed the misconceptions people have about her due to her family background despite being the daughter of billionaires pegula emphasizes that she doesn't live a life of luxury people think I have a butler and fly private everywhere but that's not the case she said I take public transit to the Billy Jean King National t tennis senta just like anyone else pegula's success should be judged solely on her performance on the court if she falls short in another quarterfinal it will be because of what happens during the match not because of her background pegula has shown that she is committed to improving and won't stop until she breaks through her journey is a testament to hard work and determination proving that her success is well-earned