“Same number of division 1 college wins as my daughter”- James Blake hits back at pickleball pro over tennis comparison, Jessica Pegula reacts

James Blake has recently responded to pickleball professional Christian Alshon in regards to the latter’s opinions on both tennis and pickleball.

Alshon initially played tennis for the University of Chicago, but in June 2021 he began playing pickleball. He had a notable victory in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III championship a few weeks before changing his focus.

On the PPA tour, Alshon currently holds the fifth spot in the rankings. However, he has sparked controversy with a recent statement on X (formerly known as Twitter). The 31-year-old resident of Boca Raton claimed that pickleball has had a greater impact on his athleticism than his previous job.

“Pickleball has made me a much better athlete than Tennis ever did. Faster reaction time and speed are needed since the ball is only coming from 10 feet away. Point for point, pickleball requires more skill than tennis,”he wrote.

James Blake took offense to Alshon’s statement, as the former World No. 4 made a remark about his previous job performance.

“Haha. That might be because you were playing a pretty low level of tennis. Maybe if you were familiar with the athleticism it takes to excel at the sport you would realize how ridiculous this statement is,”Blake wrote in a reply to the pickleball professional’s tweet.

Despite Blake’s perspective, a user expressed their disagreement by writing:

“I like James a lot but Alshon was the seventh ranked recruit in the 2019 class. Low level of tennis? Good lord”

Continuing on, Blake persistently mocked Alshon and added further insults, remarking:

“He has the same number of division 1 college wins as my daughter. (She’s 11)”

Jessica Pegula responded to the former World No. 4’s sarcastic remark by dropping three skull emojis under Blake’s tweet. This came shortly after her victory over Amanda Anisimova 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(3) in the second round of the Charleston Open.

After advancing to the third round of the Charleston Open, Pegula is scheduled to face Magda Linette from Poland. Her first-seed status earned her a bye in the first round.

Tennis Coach Rennae Stubbs Advises Christian Alshon to Delete Controversial Tweet

Australian tennis coach Rennae Stubbs also criticized Christian Alshon for his controversial statement. She took to X (previously known as Twitter) and advised Alshon to delete the tweet that has caused controversy.

“Dude you really need to delete this tweet,”Stubbs stated.

In response to Alshon’s tweet, Stubbs posted a second reply containing 34 emojis, of which 32 were ‘face with tears of joy’.

Stubbs was a competitor on the WTA Tour from 1992 to 2011, with the majority of her accomplishments coming in doubles. She earned four Grand Slam titles in doubles and two in mixed doubles.