Chris Evert cannot seem to catch a break at the US Open. First, it was her comment on Naomi Osaka’s dress that landed her in troubled waters, and then in the same match she compared Osaka’s opponent Karolina Muchova to a male player. Moreover, her praise for Coco Gauff despite the defending champion’s underwhelming performance led to more criticism of her commentary. But her troubles don’t seem to end here.

During the Iga Swiatek vs Jessica Pegula QF match, fans felt Evert’s commentary was biased against the American and she didn’t appreciate the 30-year-old’s monumental effort. Pegula stormed to a first Grand Slam semi-final at the seventh attempt beating the Pole 6-2, 6-4.

Shortly after securing the SF spot, we heard Pegula say, “There have been so many freaking times, and I just kept losing. I know everyone keeps asking me about it, but I was like, ‘I don’t know what else to do. I just need to get there again and, like, win the match.’ So thank God I was able to do it. And finally — finally! — I can say, ‘Semifinalist.‘” 

With this victory, Jessica Pegula has now become the fourth American in the Open Era to reach the women’s singles SF at the Canadian, Cincinnati, and US Open in a calendar year. However, fans didn’t appreciate Evert’s commentary during the match where Pegula made history. 

They accused Evert of talking more about Iga Swiatek than Pegula and even alleged that she was rooting for the world number 1. Fans pointed out that the commentator was more interested in talking about what Swiatek did wrong rather than praising Pegula’s game.

Pegula was calm and held her resolve against a determined Swiatek. She was able to absorb the pressure and deal with Swiatek’s first serve well throughout the match. With 22 out of 41 unforced errors on the forehand, the Pole was forced into a corner by the American. And while Swiatek hardly impressed and was far from her best, it takes nothing away from Pegula.

Swiatek had come into the match having gone three matches in a row without facing a break point, but Pegula broke her four times. This was a testament to how well the Buffalo native had done to thwart her opponent, but fans found that her play garnered little to no praise from Evert. This is similar to what happened in the earlier round during the Coco Gauff vs Emma Navarro match.

In the fourth-round contest, Gauff had a disappointing outing with 19 double faults and 60 unforced errors. Navarro prevailed in the clash, winning 6-3, 4-6, 6-3. However, Evert was praising Gauff throughout the match and was accused of being biased towards the defending US Open champion. Moreover, even after Gauff’s exit, Evert made another bizarre assessment.

She suggested that with Gauff and Elena Rybakina both out, Swiatek would feel confident about her chances to go all the way. While Rybakina enjoys a 4-2 H2H record against Swiatek in her favor, the defending French Open champion leads Gauff 11-1 in a one-sided affair.

While she is accused of favoring one American, her alleged bias against Jessica Pegula didn’t sit well with the fans. Although Evert later shared her delight at Pegula reaching her first Grand Slam final, it didn’t stop the barrage of criticism coming her way.

Chris Evert acknowledges Pegula after coming under fire for commentary in QF

This isn’t the first time that Evert has been facing a backlash from the fans for her commentary. Last year, Evert faced a major backlash for her comments during Swiatek’s match against Pegula in the WTA Finals. The Polish tennis star defeated the American quite comfortably by 6-1, 6-0 but still, Evert believed Pegula displayed a great performance. Fans mocked her when she went on to say that JP might win the Wimbledon in 2024.

However, this time, she was being criticized for being “biased” toward Iga Swiatek. Two different situations in two different tournaments but controversies still keep on chasing this tennis legend. One of the fans wrote, “#USOpen2024 I am beginning to think Chris Evert has a problem with Jessica?? Come on and give the girl something chrissy.”

Another fan pointed out, “Chris Evert is a hater. She is all but refusing to give Pegula credit.” We are not sure about Evert being a hater, but she did acknowledge Pegula reaching her first Grand Slam final in a tweet. She wrote, “So happy for @JPegula reaching her first final of a Slam! No one deserves it more than her…” Pegula defeated Karolina Muchova 1-6, 6-4, 6-2 in the semis to book a date with Aryna Sabalenka.

Meanwhile, for Evert, this US Open has been full of controversies before the recent incident.

Earlier in the second round when Naomi Osaka faced Karolina Muchova, Evert’s comments brought her attention for all the wrong reasons. She first commented on Osaka’s dress during the match saying, “I like the dress… it suits her, it suits the Japanese culture.” This led many to accuse Evert of stereotyping. Then later when Muchova beat Osaka to advance, Evert complimented her style of play but her choice of words led to backlash.

“She plays like a guy. She wants to play like a guy. The guys have bigger serves than the women, they have better volleys for the most part, they move a little bit better,” Evert said. This led to Ons Jabeur calling out the comments and supporting Muchova. Taking to X, she wrote, “Muchova is an amazing talented player. She doesn’t have to be a guy to have great serve, volley or movement. Can we please stop stereotyping based on gender?”

After hearing her commentary at the QF of the 2024 US Open another fan asked, “Is there not a responsibility to show some level of fairness commentating at this level? If so, can someone tell Chris Evert what BIASED means???”

There was more backlash with one fan highlighting, “@usopen it looks like Chris Evert is rooting for Iga more than Pagula, she hardly ever compliments the US player. SMH. All Chris Evert talks about is how Iga is not doing well.”

The 30-year-old tennis star is currently ranked 6th in the world and is the second-highest-ranked American in the women’s singles event at the moment Pegula has already won two titles in 2024. Thus fans called for some respect towards Jessica Pegula, “@espn Chris Evert hating on Jess Pegula is getting old…give the girl some credit good lord.”

Do you think Chris Evert was biased toward Iga Swiatek during the quarterfinal?