Jessica Pegula received huge backing from the tennis world for calling out pretentious journalism in the wake of her fourth-round defeat to Madison Keys on Monday at the 2023 US Open.
Pegula suffered a one-sided defeat at the hands of big-hitting Keys, winning just four games in the match. It was only the third time in her last eight Grand Slams that the World No. 3 failed to navigate her way into the quarterfinal stage.
It was a bad day at the office for the tournament's third seed who joined the procession of top seeds exiting the singles field on a whimper. Pegula credited Keys for a great performance, but it was events in the aftermath of her defeat that garnered headlines.
One of the leading tennis podcasts in the world - The Tennis Podcast - then tweeted on X (formerly known as Twitter) that Pegula shed tears as she exited the court. Contrary to the popular belief and images that circulated on social media showing her wiping a tear, Pegula clarified that she wasn't actually crying and was only wiping her eye.
Pegula immediately noticed one of the hosts of the famed podcast in the press room and wasn't going to let go of the matter and put the journalist in his place. The original tweet was then deleted and David Law, who hosts the podcast, owned the mistake and admitted that he privately apologized to Jessica Pegula after she finished her presser.
Tennis fans were not going to bury the hatchet though. They applauded Pegula for uprightness and calling out fake narratives being driven by some sections of the media. One fan, in particular, felt it was karma being served cold, as the said podcast has a history of mocking non-British tennis players.
"The way you routinely mock players (non-brits, always), paint false pictures to push your narratives/bias, and use people for interaction. I would say "do better" but we all know you don't care about fairness and only tweeted bc you got clocked by Pegula. and you deserved it."
More fans weighed in on Pegula's press conference video. One account recounted how the same podcast tweeted that Pegula did not show up when it counts, saying, 'You should be embarrassed. So glad she called you out great job Jessica!!'
The word embarrassing was floated around a lot, and another fan lashed at the tabloids reporting of the player tearing up, questioning if that's the best journalism they can offer, saying, 'Why would you want to report that a player was crying on her way off the court in the 1st place? That's your best journalism?'
0 Comments