The fallout from Genie Bouchard’s curious Jessica Pegula post following her U.S. Open run continues.
Not long after the Canadian tennis pro stirred buzz Monday over the message, “Money can’t buy a US Open final,” Bouchard stated Tuesday she’s “leaving” X amid social media speculation she had shaded Pegula, the daughter of the Bills and Sabres’ billionaire owner, Terry Pegula.
“I thought Genie was dissing Jess, & I was really shocked. But yes, rereading it, it seems she’s actually complimenting Pegula,” an X user wrote Monday, to which the 30-year-old Bouchard quote-tweeted, “Literally how? I’m complimenting her, she achieved a GS finals bc of hard work, dedication, etc. not bc of money. You can’t buy your way thru the us open draw. She’s amazing. Leaving this app.”
Chatter about the wealth of Pegula’s family became an unexpected talking point at this year’s U.S. Open, where she reached the first Grand Slam final of her career.
During a media session after her Round of 16 win over Russia’s Diana Shnaider, Pegula, 30, addressed the assumptions made by some about her upbringing.
“I did some media thing the other day too and they were, like, ‘What’s the most annoying thing?’” the world No. 3 said earlier this month.
“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.”
Pegula, whose father has a reported net worth of $7.7 billion, faced Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus in the women’s final last Saturday and fell short, 7-5, 7-5.
In the aftermath, an X user said Saturday they didn’t understand “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,” the post continued.
The post caught Bouchard’s attention as she shared it with her followers and penned the aforementioned message, “Money can’t buy a US Open.”
She followed up with, “Talent, hard work, discipline, etc,” on Tuesday.
Bouchard reached the fourth round of the U.S. Open in 2014 and 2015. She reached the Wimbledon final in 2014 before losing to Czech pro Petra Kvitová.
