After her first-round win against Jaqueline Cristian, Pegula signed the camera with a message of support for the Bills, a team co-owned by her parents Terry and Kim. The message also showed support for Hamlin. She wore the No. 3 patch again on Wednesday, during a 6-2, 7-6(5) win against Aliaksandra Sasnovich in the second round.
When asked about the patch, the Buffalo native first thanked a fan in the stands who was excitedly waving a Buffalo Bills flag. Pegula also said that she is trying to bridge the gap between Australia and Buffalo, N.Y., before going on to express her gratitude for Hamlin’s recovery, who wears the No. 3 jersey for the Bills.
After her first-round win against Cristian, Pegula even took to social media to highlight her special Damar Hamlin tribute.
Hamlin has shown good signs of recovery so far, but there is still a way to go before he can return to NFL action.
“I felt like it was a global event” - Jessica Pegula on her No. 3 tribute at Australian Open
Jessica Pegula shed more light on her tribute to Damar Hamlin, explaining how the No. 3 has become an icon for expressing support for the Bills’ star in light of his incident. The 28-year-old stated that, during the United Cup, she was unable to show her support through her on-court attire or in a similar form, but she was very keen on doing so at the Australian Open.
Pegula further opened up on her desire to show her support for Hamlin and also connect with the Buffalo Bills team and their fans after what has become a “global event.” Having thought of ways to do so, she came up with the idea for the No. 3 patch to wear at the Australian Open.
The American No. 1 also talked about coming across many people who were uninitiated with the incident involving Hamlin. She admitted how some people were confused as to why she would show off her WTA ranking of World No. 3 during matches.
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