Jessica Pegula accepted a sincere apology from her Australian Open rival
Jessica Pegula accepted an apology from Amanda Anisimova after being branded the player most likely to ignore her text messages. The American tennis stars, who face off in Wednesday’s Australian Open quarter-finals, both featured at last year’s WTA Finals.
Prior to that tournament, accusations of blanking messages were levelled at Pegula’s door. The 31-year-old, set to inherit a staggering £5.5billion family fortune, was singled out by Coco Gauff, Iga Swiatek and Anisimova as the player most prone to leaving messages on read during a Tennis Channel quiz.
The 24-year-old’s reasoning for fingering her fellow American as the guilty party centred on the hectic off-court commitments of the 2024 US Open runner-up.
When faced with three WTA Tour peers branding her with the unflattering tag of serial message ignorer, Pegula adopted a relaxed stance towards the claims and disclosed that Anisimova had even sent her an apology.
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Reflecting on the quiz results following her 6-3 6-7 (4) 6-2 victory over Gauff in her WTA Finals opener, Pegula said: “I mean Iga even. I’m like, I respond. That’s not right. Amanda apologized, she messaged me, ‘I’m so sorry, I was just so tired. I didn’t mean to call you out like that.’ I was like dude, it’s not that serious.
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“I don’t really care. Coco wasn’t wrong. She said she’ll let it go in 2026 though.” Gauff – who enjoys a tight bond with Pegula – had no hesitation in naming the world No. 6, stating: “Jess. I mean, she has like a million times.
“We’ve been supposed to go to the movies so many times and every time I’m like, ‘Let me know when you’re free’ and then she goes and sees the movie without me. But she is the one who initiated the movie and hangout in the first place. So, Jess. A 100%.”
Anisimova and Pegula are now poised to battle for a place in the Melbourne semi-finals – uncharted territory for both players in their careers. Each has enjoyed an impressive run without dropping a single set, though Pegula holds a 3-0 head-to-head advantage over Anisimova.
After defeating Wang Xinyu, the two-time Grand Slam finalist reflected on her upcoming encounter with Pegula: “It is going to be fun. Sucks that one American has to go out in the quarter-finals, but Jess is such a good player, so I’m sure it will be a battle.”
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With their last meeting dating back to 2024, Anisimova acknowledged the competitive nature ahead, saying: “We’ve always had some great matches. She’s such a great player, I really like her game.
“I’m sure it’s going to be a tough battle again. We always really go for our shots when we play against each other. I feel like we always have really long rallies. I’m really looking forward to it. Hopefully, I can bring my best game.”
