Jessica Pegula on Ready 24 and Her Pre-Tournament Skin Care Routine

Jessica Pegula, the fourth-ranked women’s tennis player in the world (and second in the U.S.) is just like us: She’s hoping 2025 will be her year. In 2024, the star athlete experienced neck, back, and knee injuries that took her out of the running at both the French Open and the WTA Finals. “But at the same time, I still had a really good year—probably one of my best,” she says. “I actually feel like I’m currently in a much better place mentally. So I’m excited to travel again, get back out there, and see what I can do.” She’s already off to a great start; Pegula collected her first title of the year at the ATX Open just a few weeks ago, and she’s now in Florida gunning for the trophy at the Miami Open.

Ahead of her first singles match today opposite Bernarda Pera, she spoke to ELLE.com about her pre-tournament routine; juggling her tennis career and skin care brand, Ready 24; and the Korean lip mask she always wears on the court.

Sports and beauty seem to overlap more and more these days. What are your thoughts on the two worlds colliding?

I mean, it’s such an important part. We’re on the road all the time. And when you take care of yourself, take care of your skin, and relax, it relieves a lot of stress. I always feel like that can help change your mood and help your performance. So to me, beauty and sports definitely go hand in hand—they’re two worlds that belong together.

How did you start playing sports growing up?

My older sister, Laura, played Division I tennis, so I was always around it and followed in her footsteps.

What’s your skin care routine before a tournament?

It depends on the climate of where I’m going. If I’m somewhere more humid, I do stuff that’s more exfoliating, like peels with glycolic or salicylic acid. I was just in the desert out in Palm Springs, so I did a sheet mask every single night because my skin’s always really, really dry. I’m honestly one of those people who just buys a million cheap sheet masks, so I kind of buy whatever. But usually, it’s always something super hydrating because, that way, I can use it on the plane, at night, and even in the morning sometimes.

What beauty products do you wear on the court?

Definitely sunscreen. That’s my No. 1 beauty product. I also love the Laneige Lip Sleeping Mask—that lasts me all day. It gives you a little bit of a gloss, too, without looking like you’re wearing anything with a ton of color in it. And I use the Ready 24 moisturizer. I try to really hydrate my skin and protect it.

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As a professional tennis player, what are your sunscreen recommendations?

It’s actually something I’m working on for my brand, which has been really interesting. So I’ve been able to learn a lot about how that world works. I just tried this Korean brand called Saranghae, which means “I love you” in Korean, and they make a really nice mineral sunscreen. I love Supergoop!’s Daily Dose Bioretinol + Mineral SPF 40—it’s in a round bottle, and it’s slightly tinted, but it’s so nice. It gives you this glowy, moisturized feel. EltaMD makes really good-quality sunscreens as well. I love trying different ones, but those are probably the ones I use the most.

How did you get into skin care in the first place?

When I was a teenager, I had a lot of bad hormonal acne. And I was playing tennis, so it was always a challenge of trying to treat it, but also being conscious that I’m in the sun a lot and sweating a lot. I could never use any of the really strong products, because they wouldn’t work with my lifestyle. I would always be trying all this different stuff. My skin would be so dry; none of it worked. When I got older and started to grow out of the hormonal acne, I simplified everything and stopped stripping my skin of its natural barrier.

Simple worked so much better for me, and my skin started getting a lot better. During that process, when I was injured four or five years ago, a company in Buffalo, New York, reached out to me, and they said, “Oh, we know that you’re really interested in skin care. Would you be interested in us helping you start something?” And I was like, “Oh my gosh, that would be amazing.” I knew nothing about that entire world. So I’ve learned a lot over the last couple years, and it’s been a fun experience to work in something that I’m really passionate about.

How do you balance entrepreneurship with your tennis career?

That’s been something that’s been really difficult for me. It’s been hard to balance it all, but I’ve slowly learned what I need help with. I’ve tried to hire the right people over the last couple years. But I do love that Ready 24 does take up some of my time. It’s nice to be able to turn off the tennis mode and think about something else that gets my brain working in a different way while still being productive and learning about something new.

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Jessica Pegula applying the Ready 24 Moisturizing Stick.

What’s next for Ready 24?

Definitely the sunscreen. I have a couple ideas for doing multiple sunscreens, but it’s been hard to do a mineral sunscreen that isn’t white and works for everyone’s skin. I’ve literally been testing sunscreen for almost two years, but we finally have one that I really like. It’s a little bit tinted, but it blends into pretty much every skin tone. I’m hoping to launch it by the summer.

Do you feel like you got your business acumen from your parents? Where did that come from?

I would say a little bit from my parents, for sure. I think my natural competitive nature has given me the ability to learn a lot. I’m pretty resilient, and I know that everything takes a lot of hard work. And I’m a problem solver. That’s something that I’ve done, while playing tennis, for as long as I can remember.

Your mom, Kim Pegula, was born in Seoul and has Korean roots. How do you get in touch with that part of your heritage?

That’s something that has been really fun to explore. My mom actually never went back until about five years ago, and that was eye-opening for my whole family. She’s never really wanted to find out more about her heritage. She was adopted at a pretty young age, so she didn’t live there, and it’s not like there was anyone around to teach her. But over the last few years, she’s really been interested in it, which has been cool for her. I think she’s realized how many other Koreans are really supportive of her and what she’s been able to accomplish. Two years ago, I went to Seoul for the second time, and it was so much fun. I’ve been trying to learn more and more about that culture—and their huge beauty and skin care culture as well.

I’m Korean too, and my sports-loving dad made it a point to tell me that the Buffalo Bills’ co-owner is Korean. I recently realized that that’s your mom.

It’s funny how they all seem to know—it seems like a small world. I’ve met so many people that have told me, “I was also adopted from Korea,” and it’s really cool in that way, where everyone kind of feels a connection to her. And when I went back to Seoul, it was amazing how many Korean fans I had just because of my mom.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.