feature-image

Imago

feature-image

Imago

Recently, tennis professionals shared stories about the times when they were the victims of racism. The likes of Coco Gauff, Christopher Eubanks, and James Blake mentioned how they were mistaken for other non-white tennis players. The discussion regarding casual racism continued as more players added to Gauff’s thread. However, an unexpected reply from her doubles partner Jessica Pegula turned out to be a standout one.

Watch What’s Trending Now!

The replies were filled with fans calling out the casual racism and negligence of the viewers. Even Christopher Eubanks joined in and recalled how he was misinterpreted for Gael Monfils the last week. However, Pegula’s admission stunned everyone and Gauff herself, as she did not see it coming by any means.

ADVERTISEMENT

Jessica Pegula reveals how she was misinterpreted for Coco Gauff

Pegula and Gauff have been doubles partners for quite some time now. Together they have participated in and won several women’s doubles events and also reached as far as the Roland Garros finals last year. Plenty of casual viewers make their way to the stadiums to watch tour-level events. They are often unaware of the players and that can result in misinterpretation.

Pegula replied to Gauff’s tweet while narrating a similar incident. She said, “One time I signed and the woman thought I was you…that one got me lol“. Gauff herself was amazed by the reply. Being mistaken for several other players, she could totally get where Pegula was coming from. She replied saying, “all POC (people of color) are the same at this point because what haha😭“, as the absurdity was getting out of hand.

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

In her initial tweet, Gauff mentioned all the players that she had been mistaken for. The list was filled with former Slam champions and finalists, including a fresh addition.

READ MORE: ‘I Have My Certification’- American Star Coco Gauff Puts Out Her Medical Credentials After the Occurrence of an Unfortunate Circumstance During Her Quarterfinal Clash in Washington

ADVERTISEMENT

Gauff reveals the list of players she has been mistaken for

After the completion of the match, players usually walk towards the crowd and sign some tennis balls before leaving the court. While signing merchandise, fans have often mistaken Gauff for other tennis icons. The list of icons includes Sloane Stephens, Venus Williams, Serena Williams, Alycia Parks, and Taylor Townsend. Leylah Fernandez was the recent entry to the list as revealed by the 19-year-old.

Do you think that the players should call out the fans for misidentifying them as other tennis players? Let us know in the comments.

ADVERTISEMENT

WATCH THIS STORY: ‘I Go With Whatever Serena Says’ – American Tennis Star Coco Gauff Not Sure About Serena Williams’ Retirement

Share this with a friend:

Link Copied!

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

Written by

author-image

Raghav Tikmany

378 Articles

Raghav Tikmany is a tennis writer at EssentiallySports. After completing his under-graduation in Commerce, his passion for sports encouraged him to take up content writing in the field of sports journalism. He has prior experience in text commentary. Raghav developed interest in tennis at a very young age because of his sister who was an ardent Roger Federer fan. But he actively roots for Holger Rune because he loves the playing style and child-like exuberance on court and has followed the Dane since his challenger days. Raghav believes that content writing is a stepping stone in his long-term goal of becoming a full time sports journalist

Know more

Edited by

editor-image

Bhavani Singh

ADVERTISEMENT