“Someone said I walked off the court in tears” – Jessica Pegula refutes claim that she cried after 4R loss to Madison Keys at US Open
Jessica Pegula has refuted the claim that she walked off the court in tears following her loss to compatriot Madison Keys in the fourth round of the 2023 US Open on Monday, September 4.
Playing at Arthur Ashe Stadium, Keys defeated Pegula 6-1, 6-3 to set up a last-eight meeting with the reigning Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova.
Apart from the outcome, Pegula was disappointed at a statement tweeted by The Tennis Podcast which claimed that the American No. 1 left the court in tears after getting eliminated.
"Madison Keys just routined Jessica Pegula, 6-1, 6-3. Pegula leaves the court in tears, and it must have felt awful beyond awful: To come into this tournament in such great form and just ... not show up when it counts," The Tennis Podcast wrote.
Pegula called out the media outlet during her post-match press conference, saying:
"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.
The 29-year-old said that the expression sounded sad and had no truth in it.
"It just sounded really sad. I definitely wasn't crying. I just got waxed in like an hour. I got to go play doubles in an hour. I was like, Okay. Anyways...," she added.
After Pegula's disapproval, the podcast issued a clarification on X (formerly Twitter), writing:
"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."
"I think it's made me a lot better player" - Jessica Pegula on playing doubles
Jessica Pegula said she has benefitted from playing in the doubles categories. On being asked if she would reconsider her decision to keep playing in categories other than singles after the US Open exit, Pegula replied:
"I mean, I don't know. Everyone asks me this question. It's like, yeah, I want to do well in both. Yeah, sometimes it would be great to conserve energy based on the schedule. But the scheduling has been okay this week, so I felt okay."
She continued:
"I guess some people maybe see the other way, but I see a lot of benefits, as well. I think it's made me a lot better player. I think it just depends on my energy levels."
With partners Coco Gauff in women's doubles and Austin Krajicek in mixed doubles, Jessica Pegula has reached the quarterfinals in both categories at the 2023 US Open.