Though Jessica Pegula did not walk away from Arthur Ashe Stadium with the U.S. Open trophy in hand, her husband’s day was won thanks to Stephen Curry.
The two-time MVP and four-time NBA champ and his wife, Ayesha, were in attendance at Arthur Ashe Stadium for the women’s final and saw Pegula lose to No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka 7-5, 7-5 on Saturday evening.
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 on the baselines and had the chance to chat more with Pegula before the match, and later on, the American’s husband, Taylor Gahagan, got to meet his hero.
“My husband, his iPhone name is Steph Curry, because he loves Steph Curry,” Pegula said, according to the Associated Press. “If you connect to Bluetooth or send him something or AirDrop, it’s ‘Steph Curry’s iPhone.’ So I kind of left early and he texted me and he was so excited. He didn’t want to say anything. I was like, ‘Please tell me you did not tell him about the iPhone thing.’ He’s like, ‘Oh, yeah, I did.’”
“I thought that was really cute,” Pegula added. “He was like, ‘No, he loved it.’ I was like, ‘Did he? Or did he really think you were kind of crazy?’ I guess he thought it was pretty funny.”
Gahagen, who tied the knot with the tennis star in 2021, formerly worked for Pegula’s parents — Buffalo Bills owners Terry and Kim Pegula — in their sports and entertainment management company for nearly a decade, according to People.
Currently, Gahagen serves as the vice president of his wife’s skincare brand, Ready 24, and assists Pegula in running her charitable foundation, A Lending Paw.
It was a light, humorous moment to help clear any disappointment for Pegula after losing what was the world No. 6’s first grand slam final appearance.
Sabalenka was the favorite going into the year’s final grand slam in Flushing and the Belarusian player was out for revenge after losing the women’s final in 2023 to Coco Gauff.
Sabalenka got off to a hot start, winning five consecutive games to grab the first set.
Nevertheless, that didn’t fully deter Pegula, who got up to a 3-0 lead in the final set and later held it at 5-3, looking promising to force a third set.
But Sabalenka composed herself and was able to rally for the win.