Tennis star Jessica Pegula has expressed surprise and admiration for fellow player Jelena Ostapenko's entrepreneurial side hustle – selling her unwanted possessions on Instagram. The Latvian, who won the French Open in 2017, has been listing items from perfume samples to a Dyson vacuum cleaner, with prices starting at just £4.
Despite earning over £14 million in prize money and additional income from sponsorship deals, Ostapenko is not shy about making extra cash by clearing out her unused items. Pegula, speaking on the Player's Box Podcast, gave a cheeky shoutout to Ostapenko's efforts.
“We have to give a shoutout to Jelena Ostapenko. Talking about utilising the most of your career, she is selling things on Instagram,” Pegula said. “I'm like flabbergasted by the fact that she does this, but we also, I think, respect it because girl's just trying to like get her bag and make her money.”
Pegula, who has a personal fortune of nearly £15 million and stands to inherit a £5.5 billion family empire, said she “absolutely loves” the initiative. “Can't wait to see what's on there next. The Dyson vacuum cleaner is like a legit purchase,” she added.
Both players competed in the recent WTA Finals, with Pegula reaching the singles semi-finals and Ostapenko the doubles semi-finals. Pegula, yet to win a Grand Slam, lost the 2024 US Open final to Aryna Sabalenka.
