PARIS — Jessica Pegula is forging a path not only as an accomplished tennis player but also as a figure of representation for the Asian American community. As a successful athlete of Korean descent, she is hoping to foster an awareness of the intersections of culture and sports.
Pegula’s journey to connect with her Korean heritage has been inextricably linked to sports. Her mother, Kim, was born in Seoul and abandoned outside a police station by her birth parents. She was adopted by an American family at 5 years old and grew up in New York.
“I don’t know a lot of my heritage because she really didn’t want to know that much and she didn’t really grow up in it,” Pegula said.
This week, Pegula is the No.3 seed at Roland Garros where she was a quarterfinalist last year. She opened her campaign with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Danielle Collins on Sunday and will face Italy’s Camila Giorgi in the second round.
Pegula’s first trip to Korea was also her mother’s first trip back to Seoul. Pegula played the Hana Bank Korea Open in 2019 specifically to build a family trip around the event. They even visited the orphanage where her mother was taken in.
“I think that experience made me realize the importance of my heritage,” Pegula said. “Asian people love other Asian people and Koreans loved her. She doesn’t speak Korean, but they were so proud.”
“Around that time is when I started to realize how important it was.”
Pegula may not have grown up with the stereotypical hallmarks of an Asian American household, but her mother’s trailblazing career as a sports executive and her own ascendancy up the rankings to become the top-ranked American has crystalized the importance of being seen.
“Sometimes I forget the impact you have on people,” Pegula said. “Especially when I see a young Korean girl or family, they come up to me and they love my mom and they love me just because they see themselves being represented on a bigger stage or in an area…
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