"We get a lot of hate for it on social media" - Jessica Pegula sounds the alarm over US Open betting deal as gamblers unleash abuse

It only took Jessica Pegula 56 minutes to dismantle Sofia Kenin 6-3, 6-1 in the second round of the US Open as he attempts to collect her first piece of major silverware. However, her press conference took a turn later on as shared her disappointment in the tournament partnering with a betting company following the countless tally of hate messages that stem from such incidents.

Tennis players regularly have to scroll and endure mean messages and awful criticism being directed to them on social media with gambling a huge reason behind this. Many tennis fans will try to win some money, and the times they do not win they vent their anger out on the player in question, and it has led to many tennis players coming out and speaking about it openly and candidly.

Pegula is ranked World No.3 and is a very prominent player on the WTA Tour so would have run into these issues before. To her dismay, she was not happy when it was announced that the US Open decided to partner with Kalshi, a prediction market platform that is used primarily for sports betting.

When asked this by a journalist, the 32-year-old made her feelings crystal clear. "That's been a conversation. I think that's been going on for a bit, as far as players can't do anything off of a betting-type of sponsorship, but the tournaments profit off of a lot of that stuff," she said.

"I don't know, it's a tricky question because we get a lot of negativity from people that use stuff like that, from bettors. Whether you win or lose, right? It doesn't even matter sometimes. And we get a lot of hate for it on social media. So it's tough when you see that and then they're a big sponsor behind the court or they're on TV, and it's tricky."

While admitting that the deal was 'inevitable,' she acknowledged that betting is a huge part of sports which keep many fans engaged. "I mean, I don't really know the best way to deal with it just because it's kind of the inevitable. I mean, it's everywhere and it's not really going away, I think, anytime soon. Especially when I look at other sports, I mean, betting is a big part of keeping fans engaged. So I don't know, I go back and forth with that one."

Pegula tries to avoid all the hate that is directed to her as gambling and betting continues to grow in tennis. "It's just, I don't know if it's just unfortunate or it's just the world that we're living in now, but I try to do my best to just not—yeah, I guess not deal with the negative sides of it as far as bettors and comments and social media stuff, and just try and stay away from it. But it is an interesting time where you're starting to see it creep in, especially now more and more to tennis. But yeah, I don't know. I'm not sure."

Back to the action, and Pegula found life against the former Australian Open champion very simple. Kenin had dealt Venus Williams with her latest WTA defeat and was raring to go against one of the title favourites, but less than an hour later she was wandering off the court as the loser.

As for Pegula, it was a thoroughly positive display. "I think I'm just happy with the way I played throughout the whole match," she commented. "To be out of there in under an hour, it doesn't always happen, so I think I'm just going to take that one and run, I guess, until the next round. But yeah, happy with the way I played. Thought, again, it was another solid match."

She was asked about her opinions on the contentious late night start for Kenin a couple of days ago. "I still wonder why people are there so late," Pegula stated. "It's just, it's tough. I mean, I've been in that match before where I—I mean, I think even when I played [Karolina] Muchova a few years ago, it was pretty empty because we were on late. And I've, I think, played Shelby Rogers one year and it was the same thing, like kind of dead.

The 2024 finalist questioned the point of a match finishing at 2am. "But you have to wonder if, yeah, it's really the right thing for players to be finishing at 2 a.m. Especially when it's not like—I'm not watching on TV, I'm sleeping. People, some people stay, but there's a lot of people that need to go home.

"So yeah, I definitely question whether there isn't just a better way, or just starting an hour earlier, or just something different. But it's always tricky, especially for the women being the second night match because the first is a men's match and it could be two hours or it could be five. And that just obviously is an unknown that you have to deal with."

As of late, Amanda Anisimova has been dubbed as the 'meme queen' following countless viral moments of her occurring on the court. She celebrated her 25th birthday at the US Open with her locker being plastered with pictures of some of these iconic memes by Mirra Andreeva and Daria Kasatkina.

Pegula found the funny side in all of this while saying who else could hold this mantle. "There's a lot. I mean, hers are pretty good. I think Medvedev's got to have some good ones up there. I don't remember exactly which ones, but he definitely has a lot. I can't really think of which ones specifically off the top of my head, but I think any expressive player."

These viral moments will continue to occur with social media taking a more prominent role in tennis as every moment is captured. This leads on to the influx of influencers making their way to Flushing Meadows to watch the tennis while getting something else out of it as well to post online.

This change has been documented at the US Open with Pegula touching on how it affects her as a player. "I think that I can appreciate the influencers coming and kind of showcasing the US Open experience. I think that's something that the US Open has utilised a lot, as far as food and drinks and things to do in the shops. That part is part of a fan experience and something that people might not know about and that makes them want to go."

However, on the contrary: "But I do think that it's tough when you see videos like that, when they're taking pictures and using the selfie lights, and it's like people are down there trying to perform, and it's their career and their job. And it seems like a bit disrespectful. So I think it's gotten a little, maybe too much, it feels like this year. I don't know. I think, again, I can appreciate one side of it, but I think when you have the other side literally interrupting matches, it gets a little tough."

Pegula will brush off all of these as she looks to win a first Grand Slam title. She lost the last two editions to the champion Aryna Sabalenka and is determined to go the distance while continuing her stunning form in 202. Up next is the number 31 seed and former runner-up Leylah Fernandez in what could be a tricky test.