Jessica Pegula's Journey to the 2026 US Open: Aiming for Grand Slam Glory
Jessica Pegula steps into the 2026 US Open as the No. 3 seed, a familiar face in the latter stages of majors, still chasing the one thing that keeps slipping away: a Grand Slam title.
She has been close. Painfully close. A finalist in New York in 2024. A semifinalist again in 2025. Each deep run sharpened the edge of expectation around her, especially here, on home soil, where the lights feel brighter and the questions grow louder.
This year, the mission is simple. End the wait.
Away from the roar of Arthur Ashe Stadium, Pegula’s world is anchored by her husband, Taylor Gahagen, a steady presence who has been by her side long before she became a staple of the second week at majors. The two married in 2021, after pushing back their original plans because of the COVID-19 pandemic, another reminder that her life, like her career, has rarely followed a straight line.
The man behind the scenes
Gahagen’s professional life lives far from the baseline rallies and press conferences that define Pegula’s. According to his LinkedIn, he works as a managing partner at Agarwood Wealth and Dragos Capital, bringing a business-school pedigree to the table. He studied business administration at the State University of New York at Fredonia, then added an MBA from Canisius University.
But his role in Pegula’s orbit runs deeper than a résumé.
He serves as president of A Lending Paw, the charity he launched with Pegula. The organization focuses on rescuing dogs in need of a second chance and supporting the training of service dogs that can change people’s lives. It’s a cause that blends their personal passions with their public platform, a softer counterpoint to the hard edges of elite sport.
Gahagen also holds the title of vice president at Ready 24, Pegula’s skincare brand built around an “active lifestyle” ethos. While she grinds through tour stops and training blocks, he helps drive the off-court ventures that now surround a top-tier athlete.
A partnership years in the making
The exact origin story of their relationship remains their own. What is clear is that Pegula and Gahagen have been linked for nearly a decade. They first appeared together in photos in 2015, long before Pegula became a fixture in the late rounds of Slams.
One possible thread runs through Pegula’s family empire. According to his LinkedIn, Gahagen began working for Pegula Sports and Entertainment — the company owned by her parents — in 2014. Whether the job led to the relationship or the relationship led to the job has never been clarified publicly. The timeline simply shows that by the time the wider tennis world really discovered Pegula, he was already in the picture.
Career, clock, and the question of family
For now, their household does not include children. Pegula has been open about the tension that many athletes face as they hit their 30s, especially women whose careers intersect with questions about family planning.
She has spoken about “definitely” thinking about starting a family with Gahagen and the way that decision inevitably collides with a professional schedule built around majors and rankings.
“I also think, like, being married and thinking if you want kids and stuff like that, that's something around 30 years old that you're really thinking about because it does affect your career,” she admitted. Turning 30 brought those thoughts into sharper focus, though her stance has since relaxed. “I think about it, but I think when I turned 30, I was a little bit more pressed about it. Now I'm just like … it's fine.”
Her outlook mirrors her approach to the one gap on her tennis résumé.
“I think it'll work out the way that it works out. Whether that's me winning a slam, whether I don't win a slam, whether that's when I retire or decide to start a family, or none of those things. Whatever happens happens.”
For now, the script remains unwritten. The No. 3 seed walks into another US Open with her husband in the stands, a Slam still out of reach, and the sense that one way or another, this stage of her life is nearing a decisive turn.
