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Jessica Pegula recently confronted tennis journalists for tweeting that she was in tears following her US Open loss against Madison Keys. Tennis fans quickly reacted to that interaction and lauded the American for speaking out against the tennis journalists.
Pegula locked horns with compatriot Keys in the fourth round of the US Open in New York. However, the latter dismantled the World No. 3 in just over an hour. Keys dropped just three games to advance to the quarterfinals of the American Major.
Soon after her loss, some members of the tennis media shared a picture of Pegula and claimed that she was crying after her exit from the US Open.
At the press conference, however, Jessica Pegula confronted the journalists and stated that she wasn't crying after her loss.
"Were you guys the ones that tweeted that I cried when I walked off the court? Weren't you guys The Tennis Podcast? Someone said I walked off the court in tears. I most definitely was not crying. I'm pretty sure that was from you guys. I don't know if you tweeted it exactly. I definitely wasn't crying," Pegula said.
Several fans then came out in support of Pegula and praised the American for her honesty. Some also claimed that the tennis media are "disrespectful" and "mean" to all players except Brits.
"Yes! Get them Jess! They're the fu**ing worst. Disrespectful and mean to every player except the brits. Horrible pod with horrible people on it," one fan tweeted.
Another fan stated that players should act more like Pegula as that would force the journalists to behave better.
"Players need to do this more! So all the "so called tennis journalists" can learn to behave," they wrote.
One fan even said that most sports journalists are "cowards."
"journalists" in sports are often times cowards," the fan wrote.
Another fan praised Pegula for calling out the press.
"It’s awesome when players call out the press folks, especially like this - ice cold :)" they wrote.
Below are a few more fan reactions:
Jessica Pegula is also competing in the doubles and mixed doubles events at the US Open 2023
While she lost in the singles event of the 2023 US Open, Jessica Pegula is still alive in the doubles and mixed doubles categories. In the women's doubles, she will partner with Coco Gauff and take on Hsieh Su-we and Wang Xinyu in the quarterfinals. Pegula will also team up with compatriot Austin Krajicek to face Ellen Perez and Jean-Rojer in the quarterfinals of the mixed doubles event.
Jessica Pegula reached the doubles finals of the 2022 French Open, partnering Gauff. The American duo of Gauff and Pegula also reached the doubles semifinals of the 2023 Australian Open.
