“When I first came on tour, she was one of the few players that was nice to me,” said Gauff, with a smiling, humble Pegula just feet away during her on-court comments. “That’s always stuck a long way with me and my family. I have so much respect for you. It’s an honor to share the court with you once again.”

Simple. Sincere. A poignant reminder, yet again, that we remember how others make us feel, how they treat us, and how words matter. Something especially true during our most uncertain, unfamiliar, and vulnerable times.

It also was a stellar lesson in humanity and sportsmanship. Something rarely witnessed in a sports industry today writ large with images increasingly shaped by 10- and 20-second social media clips that mine clicks, play to shock value, and fuel general divisiveness.

Confession: I am not much of a WNBA watcher. Surprise, right? A boomer of the early ’50s, I’m far closer to James Naismith’s demo than I am to anyone who’s tracing the arc, distance, and spin rate — gotta be a hoop metric, right? — of Caitlin Clark’s rainbow 3-pointers.

However, I’ve seen enough of the WNBA, particularly as it’s filtered through the aforementioned quicky media clips, to know the narrative and action around Clark is a mess. The league is blessed with a good product, outstanding and competitive athletes, and a growing audience. Exhibit A: the record 20,996 who turned out at Montreal’s Bell Centre last month to watch the Toronto Tempo and the Dallas Wings.

From the moment she stepped in, Clark became the meal ticket for both the league and its rank and file. She was a star born in college and delivered, gift-wrapped, to a WNBA that has been three decades in need of exactly the charisma and duende she carried into the arena. I know she’s not the best player, but she has the “it” factor.

Yet for those of you who follow the narrative of the video clips, the focus repeatedly zeroes in on Clark getting beaten up with fouls, followed by her barking back at officials, players, and coaches, and the cacophony, pushing, and brouhaha it triggers. Rather than the gift that keeps on giving, she keeps on getting.

Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark has been subjected to rough treatment from many players during WNBA games.Michael Conroy/AP Photo/Michael Conroy

There are times that it feels like I’ve been tossed back to Channel 9 wrestling of the ’60s. (Haystacks Calhoun with the body slam!) But at least we knew that was all theater and utter buffoonery. A running spoof that took a sport that otherwise would draw only family and friends to a high school or college gym and turned it into entertainment. It was sport viewed through a funhouse mirror. Enough of us liked the look.

It took women’s tennis decades to get where it is today, where Gauff collects a check for $1 million-plus (and Pegula half that) for a tuneup twirl in Cincinnati. If they repeat as finalists at the US Open, the winner will go home with $5.5 million and the loser with $2.8 million.

We’re a long way — just shy of 53 years — from Billie Jean King taking on huckster Bobby Riggs in the Battle of the Sexes at the Astrodome. The women’s game ultimately emerged from the daunting shadow of the men’s side on the backs of champions Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova, Steffi Graf, Monica Seles, and others, including the great Serena Williams. They stuck to business, didn’t tear one another down, and now just keep mining gold.

The WNBA should be able to get there, be it on Clark’s back or that of some future phenom capable of mesmerizing crowds, be it with magical ballhandling or monstrous board work or her own brand of burying threes from the merchandise stand.

First it has to realize that beating up on Clark is just beating up on itself.

Gauff, once that young teen befriended by the older Pegula, was in her fourth year on tour when she reached her first major final at the 2022 French Open. She won the US Open the following year at age 19. Her career prize money now is $35.3 million, about $10 million more than Pegula, the daughter of Terry and Kim Pegula, the Buffalo billionaires who own the NHL Sabres and NFL Bills.

Between the two, Gauff and Pegula have combined to bank $60 million in earnings. They are fierce opponents, but definitely on the same page when it comes to their sport and sportsmanship.

It’s a page the WNBA would find worth reading.

Kevin Paul Dupont can be reached at kevin.dupont@globe.com.