"It's not more of like the fairytale, Cinderella story" - Pegula understands why fans don't root for her due to background

Jessica Pegula is understanding that fans don't necessarily root for her due to her privileged background and wanting respect from her peers.

Jessica Pegula never played for fans' adoration but rather to prove to herself that she can fulfil her dream and she certainly did. A true student of the game, Pegula fought her way to the top in spite of not being the most talented which earned the respect of her peers.

That is something important to her because fans don't gravitate to her naturally which she understands and accepts:

“There are so many stories of people coming up and having to earn their way. I think I know, and other people know, in the tennis world that, of course, you can’t be successful without working really hard and putting in the work and the hours. But I think also to that kind of extent there’s so many people that don’t know about tennis that are kind of like, ‘Oh, she probably had everything given to her, she probably had the best coaches and the best stuff’."

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WShe added:

"I definitely know from personal experience, just because you can afford so-called the best coach in the world, it doesn’t mean that it’s going to work. And I think that is a misconception, not just in tennis, but maybe sports, that it doesn’t matter who it is, sometimes it’s the fit, or the personality fit, the way you handle your career as tennis it's just so different. So I think sometimes I definitely get the feeling that people don't want to root for me because it's not more of like the fairytale, Cinderella story, which is fine, and I'm okay with that."

She concluded with:

“But I think at the same time, everyone that I know in the tennis world and all the players and all the team, definitely see that I put in the work. I think having that respect amongst my peers is more important because I know what they see and it doesn't really matter what anyone else doesn't see."

Coco Gauff

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