"I lost my last $5, I hope you die" - Jessica Pegula & Madison Keys shed light on dark reality of tennis gambling as players get abused even on Venmo

American WTA stars Jessica Pegula and Madison Keys have spoke up on the persistent issue of gambling in tennis. Women's tennis players, in particular, have been at the receiving end of numerous hateful, threatening, and abusive messages from gamblers who have lost money after betting on players.

Pegula and Keys, the World No. 5 and 7 respectively in women's singles, who also co-host The Player's Box Podcast along with compatriots Jennifer Brady and Desirae Krawczyk, touched on the sensitive and controversial subject on a recent episode of the podcast. Sarcastically speaking about how athletes are adversely affected by gamblers, Pegula said:

"I don't think any of us really gamble but the people that gamble on our matches, we get to enjoy that fun part of being an athlete I guess I should say." (from 27:37)

After attentively listening to what Jessica Pegula had to say, Madison Keys recalled how she had to once change her name to a fake one on Venmo after gamblers found her on the mobile payment platform and went as far as to threaten her over the money they lost by betting on her.

"I'll never forget being at United Cup and you guys searching for my Venmo and I had a fake name because gamblers found me on Venmo and they sent me abusive messages requesting money after I lost," Keys said.

Going on to cite an example of the messages she received, the 2025 Australian Open champion added:

"It was literally like, "I lost $5 on you and it was my last $5. I hate you. I hope you die." And I'm like, "Bro, why are you spending $5 on this? I think you have other problems if it's your last $5 and you're betting it on a tennis match.""

Jessica Pegula lashed out at bettors after suffering upset at French Open 2025

Jessica Pegula in action at the 2025 French Open (Source: Getty)

At this year's French Open, Jessica Pegula found herself at the wrong end of a stunning upset, with the American falling to home hope and wild card Lois Boisson in three sets in the fourth round of women's singles actions. In the aftermath of her loss, the 31-year-old took to Instagram to share offensive messages sent to her by bettors.

Lambasting them over their behavior, Pegula wrote in an Instagram Story:

"These (bettors) are insane and delusional. And I don’t allow dms and try to remember when to shut my comments off during tournament weeks but they always find a way to my timeline. This stuff has never really bothered me much but does any other sport deal with this to our level? I’d love to know because it seems to be (predominantly) tennis?? It’s so disturbing."

Both Jessica Pegula and Madison Keys are set to feature next at the year-end WTA Finals. Pegula is set to get her campaign underway against defending champion and compatriot Coco Gauff, while Keys is slated to face Iga Swiatek.