Tennis star Jessica Pegula fell in the 2023 US Open earlier this week to fellow American Madison Keys, one of the best professionals in the world. But what happened in the press conference afterward took the story of that loss to another level.
The Tennis Podcast, a popular podcast series, had published a tweet alleging that Pegula was seen crying after losing to Keys. But during the press conference, she made it a point to clarify how things went. She specifically targeted one of the podcasters in attendance for the presser.
“Were you guys the ones that tweeted that I cried when I walked off the court?” she asked. There was no reply, so she spoke up again.
“I’m pretty sure it was you guys,” Pegula said. “I definitely wasn’t crying; I just got waxed in an hour.”
https://twitter.com/TheTennisLetter/status/1698882238291788007
After the awkward moment at the press conference, the podcast later issued a response and an apology. “DL: Jessica Pegula clarified to us just now that she was not crying as she left the court,” They posted. “I was on BBC commentary at the time, saw her touch her eye as she left, and also thought she was wiping a tear away, but it was just something in her eye. Wanted to set that straight.”
DL: Jessica Pegula clarified to us just now that she was not crying as she left the court. I was on BBC commentary at the time, saw her touch her eye as she left and also thought she was wiping a tear away, but it was just something in her eye. Wanted to set that straight. https://t.co/JuxkdvRI1E
— The Tennis Podcast (@TennisPodcast) September 4, 2023
Suffice it to say, this is always a lesson not to be so quick and reactive to the things you see. What you see isn’t always what you get, as it turns out.
About Chris Novak
Chris Novak has been talking and writing about sports ever since he can remember. Previously, Novak wrote for and managed sites in the SB Nation network for nearly a decade from 2013-2022