Eugenie Bouchard was left in disbelief and stunned after seeing that misinterpreted her Jessica Pegula post and thought that she was taking a shot at the American instead of defending her.
At this year's US Open, the American was one of the best stories after upsetting Iga Swiatek - ending her negative streak of 0-6 in Grand Slam quarterfinals - and making her maiden Major final before falling short in a tight two-set battle to Aryna Sabalenka. While the majority of the comments were praises coming the 30-year-old's way, there were also some pretty disgusting remarks since some were mentioning her family's wealth in a negative context and expressing hate just because of her status.
That led to one person issuing a post in the 2024 US Open runner-up's defense, which has since gone viral.
"I don't get why Jessica Pegula gets hated because she is 'the daughter of' and comes from a wealthy family. She seems like a down to earth and fun person and worked her ass off to climb in the rankings. Just like EVERY PLAYER. You can't buy talent and work ethic," a viral post on X read.
Among those who noticed that was Bouchard and she responded: "Money cant buy a US Open final lol."
To some, it looked like the Canadian was shading the American's critics and sarcastically pointing out that money can't get you to a Slam final. But there were some who also interpreted it as the 2014 Wimbledon finalist taking a dig at the current world No. 3 and suggesting that she could not have bought a US Open title with her wealth.
That led to some mixed reactions but also the former world No. 5 drawing criticism. But after some time, a couple of fans noticed that the Canadian was probably unfairly targeted.
Fans defend Bouchard, she responds to the criticism: Leaving this app...
"Is everyone misunderstanding Genies Tweet? I thought what she was saying is that having money cant get you to a final. The implication being youve got to have talent and put in the work. I dont think shes hating on Jess at all. Or am I wrong?" one fan posted.
Another bluntly highlighted: "That's exactly what she meant. Reading is fundamental and some people can't do that."
"I thought Genie was dissing Jess, & I was really shocked. But yes, rereading it, it seems shes actually complimenting Pegula," another post read.
One person then absolutely unloaded on the Canadian's critics: "You are right. Unfortunately there are too many idiots in the world. How they completely spin Genie's words baffles me."
After noticing some of the comments that were made about her and some fans standing up for her, Bouchard highlighted that she was absolutely defending Pegula: "Literally how? Im complimenting her, she achieved a GS finals bc of hard work, dedication, etc. not bc of money. You cant buy your way thru the us open draw. Shes amazing. Leaving this app."
Pegula made her feelings on the matter perfectly clear
The world No. 3 comes from one of the wealthiest families in the United States since her father Terry is a multi-billionaire. But while the American tennis star has never been the one to speak about it or brag about her wealth or anything like that, she still didn't avoid receiving hateful comments as some automatically assume that she is privileged and doesn't have to work for a single thing in her life.
At this past US Open, the top-ranked American female tennis player revealed that she has heard "outrageous" theories about her lifestyle and made it clear that she doesn't like it at all.
"I did some media thing the other day. They were, like, What's the most annoying thing? It's that people think I have a butler, that I get chauffeured around. I have a private limo, that I fly private everywhere. I'm definitely not like that. It's a little annoying, but honestly I just think it's kind of funny because I don't really even know anyone that lives like that. It's outrageous," Pegula said in New York.
