The conversation swirling around the wealth of Jessica Pegula’s family hasn’t ceased since her heartbreaking loss Saturday in the U.S. Open final.
Two days after the American tennis star, 30, fell to Aryna Sabalenka in straight sets for the championship, Canadian athlete Eugenie Bouchard offered a curious response to a post on X that lauded Pegula — the daughter of billionaire Buffalo Bills owner Terry Pegula — as assumptions about a privileged lifestyle became a talking point during her tournament run.
“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,” X user @backhandology_ posted Saturday. “You can’t buy talent and work ethic.”
Bouchard, a 2014 Wimbledon finalist who transitioned to pickleball earlier this year, replied, “Money can’t buy a US Open final lol.”
Unsurprisingly, the Canadian’s message raised a few eyebrows on the platform.
“I actually think it’s more impressive. Because her motivation is not as urgent to succeed because she has billions to fall back on,” one X user replied of world No. 3 Pegula.
“Nope but talent can and that’s why Pegula was in the finals,” another replied to Bouchard, 30.
Saturday’s Grand Slam final marked the first of Pegula’s career after reaching the quarterfinals of the Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon in previous years.
The Belarus-born Sabalenka, last year’s runner-up to winner Coco Gauff, defeated Pegula, 7-5, 7-5.
Prior to Saturday’s highly anticipated matchup, Pegula elaborated on the perception some may have regarding her upbringing.
“I did some media thing the other day, too, and they were, like, ‘What’s the most annoying thing?’” Pegula said last week following her Round 4 win against Russia’s Diana Shnaider.
“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. People can think what they want. I don’t know. I just think it’s kind of funny.”
Terry Pegula, who also owns the Buffalo Sabres, has a net worth of $7.7 billion, according to Forbes.
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