At times, Jessica Pegula has resorted to turning off comments on social media during tournaments.
Pegula will only let accounts she follows comment back.
Direct messages get turned off altogether, she said, but she also has noticed users will just create a new account — with no followers, no profile picture — and keep writing threats toward the No. 6 player in the WTA rankings anyway.
![Jessica Pegula of of the US [6] serves against Sofia Kenin of the US during their round 2 singles match on Day 4 of the 2024 US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King Tennis Center on Thursday August 29, 2024 in Flushing, New York.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/08/6-serves-sofia-kenin-us-88520416.jpg?w=1024)
And Pegula, the 30-year-old American tennis star chasing an elusive Grand Slam title in Flushing, knows that regardless of how her match unfolds, people will have negative reactions.
France’s Caroline Garcia posted about the threats she received following her first-round loss at the Open on Tuesday and specifically mentioned “unhealthy” sports betting as a root cause.
France’s Caroline Garcia posted about the threats she received following her first-round loss at the U.S. Open on Tuesday and specifically mentioned “unhealthy” sports betting as a root cause.
Pegula supported Garcia and said it “sucks” that they’ve needed to navigate the threats.
“It’s crazy how it’s become so normal and just to that sense, yeah, it’s not good,” Pegula said after she defeated unseeded American Sofia Kenin 7-6 (4), 6-3 in her second-round match at Louis Armstrong Stadium on Thursday. “We know it all happens, but just, yeah, for Caroline to kind of call it out, especially after a loss, it’s unfortunate. It shouldn’t happen.”
A joint announcement between various tennis governing bodies in December — which included the Women’s Tennis Association — revealed that AI-based “Threat Matrix” would be used as a solution to help survey social media accounts and combat the abuse players receive.
![Jessica Pegula of of the US [6] returns a volley against Sofia Kenin of the US during their round 2 singles match on Day 4 of the 2024 US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King Tennis Center on Thursday August 29, 2024.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/08/6-returns-volley-sofia-kenin-88520407.jpg?w=1024)
It operates in 35 different languages and is meant to assess activity on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, YouTube and X, according to the release. The service went live Jan. 1.
Pegula heard “some of the AI stuff works,” while Coco Gauff said Wednesday night following her second-round win that she felt targeted when threats started.
Then, she added, she realized it was happening to everyone across the sport.
“It’s tough because you hear a lot of nasty things, and people, like, talk about your appearance, your family’s appearance and all these things,” Gauff said. “If you are already struggling with your own mental issues and on top of that you have people digging deeper, it is tough. I personally just block. … I will literally spend 30 minutes blocking all the people. I really don’t care.”
At one point, the person running an Instagram account for Ready 24 — Pegula’s collection of skin care products — came to her “gravely concerned” after reading comments on the page. Pegula said she laughed and told her not to worry.
The daughter of Buffalo Bills owners Terry and Kim Pegula said she also feels bad when people such as her grandparents notice threats on her Instagram page.
Garcia, ranked No. 30 in the WTA rankings, posted some of the specific messages she received and wrote that she worried about younger players who “might be affected by this hate.”
She questioned whether betting companies should be promoted and added that threats can be more damaging after losses, when players are already “emotionally destroyed.”
“It’s not normal,” Pegula said Thursday, “but it’s totally normal for us. It’s so bad that it’s kind of come to that point.”
