Jessica Pegula makes honest revelations about viral Olympic star

Jessica Pegula has revealed that viral Olympic star Ilona Maher is just as charismatic and funny in person as she is in her social media videos.

Pegula says she hasn't had time to get to know many athletes or stars of the Olympic Games, but she has met a few in the Olympic Village.

After her victory in the quarterfinals of the Cincinnati Open, Pegula spoke to Prakash Amritraj about Tennis Channel about her experiences at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris and revealed that she met American competitors Katie Ledecky, Sha' Carri Richardson and Simone Biles in Paris.

She also gave some insight into the character of Maher, the women's rugby sevens star who became the sport's most watched player thanks to her hilarious videos during the Olympics.

“We didn't have time to meet anyone, but we met a lot of people in the village. Katie Ledecky was super nice. Simone (Biles) and Sha'Carri Richardson were really sweet, super talkative and nice. So, yeah, we met a few athletes,” she said.

“And then people from completely different sports that we had no idea about. We met a couple of Irish rugby players, which was cool. We met Ilona Maher, she was really funny. Such a personality, just like you see in her content.”

Pegula expressed her dissatisfaction with her performance at the 2024 Summer Olympics and described her experiences at the Paris Olympics.

However, she also mentioned how much she enjoyed her time in the French capital with her compatriots.

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“Officially, it's sad that the Olympics are over. The social media content was unmatched and I want to come back as a track and field athlete in my next life,” she continued.

“I wasn't able to perform as much as I would have liked, but it was fun spending time with the rest of the team,” said Jessica Pegula. “Everything was chaotic. We drove out of the village for dinner and had to walk a lot because the traffic was congested.”

After competing in the Olympics, Pegula defeated Amanda Anisimova in the final to win the Canadian Open singles championship for the second year in a row. She became the first woman to defend her Canadian Open title since Martina Hingis in 1999 and 2000.

Pegula is a player to keep an eye on at the US Open, having also reached the semifinals in Cincinnati.

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