Jessica Pegula continued to sail through the US Open by defeating Sofia Kenin in straight sets in her second round match.
Pegula has dropped just nine games in her first two matches at Flushing Meadows this year and she remains one of the favourites to win the title.
The American has reached the final of the US Open before, in 2024, but she is yet to claim a Grand Slam title, despite her brilliant form over the last past two seasons.
While Pegula continues to impress on the court, she has noticed something away from the court at the US Open that she is far from happy with.
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In her recent post-match press conference, Pegula complained about the number of gambling sponsorships at the US Open for the 2026 tournament.
“It’s been a discussion that’s been going on for a while now. Players can’t do anything related to betting sponsorships, while tournaments profit from a large part of this business,” said the world No 3.
“I don’t know, it’s a complicated issue. Because we get so much negativity from people who gamble. And sometimes it doesn’t even matter if you win or lose, right? It doesn’t change anything,” she continued.
“We get a lot of hate on social media for this, so it’s difficult when you then see those same companies become big sponsors of the tournament, perhaps advertising on the sidelines or on television. It’s complicated.
“I really don’t know the best way to approach the situation, especially since it’s somewhat inevitable. Betting is everywhere, and I don’t think it’s going away anytime soon, especially when I look at other sports. It’s become an important part of keeping the public engaged.
“I don’t know, I have mixed feelings. I don’t know if it’s just something unpleasant or if it’s the world we live in today. I try my best not to deal with the negative side of things, with the bettors, the comments, and everything that happens on social media, and I just try to stay away from it.
“But it’s an interesting time, because we’re starting to see betting increasingly enter the tennis world, especially now. I don’t know, I’m not sure it’s a good thing.”
Several players on the WTA Tour have complained about the abuse they have received from online gamblers while playing the sport in recent years.
Speaking during the 2025 season, Katie Boulter revealed how she struggles with the abuse she receives after she loses matches. The British star shared a number of messages she received from angry bettors, before divulging her thoughts.
“A lot of comments are very emotional responses,” she said. “I wouldn’t say they are normal responses. They always seem to be during a match and a lot of them do reference gambling, saying you lost them a lot of money. We’re still all learning, but a lot of it’s from that.
“I’m past the point of worrying what people actually say to me, it’s more about somehow finding a way to stop that from happening. My goal was to raise awareness. There’s a lot of it. It’s pretty hard to contain it.”
The US Open has partnered with prediction market platform, Kalshi, for the 2026 event.
