Madison Keys had an unsettling time watching her friend Jessica Pegula take on Aryna Sabalenka in the US Open semi-final.
Sabalenka was pushed to the limit by Pegula as the American became the first and only player to take a set off the World No. 1 at the US Open.
Pegula rued missed chances against Sabalenka as she fell to a narrow loss in the final four of her home tournament.
Her friend, and podcast co-host, Madison Keys, has revealed how uncomfortable she was watching the huge match.
Madison Keys couldn’t stand the tension of Aryna Sabalenka vs Jessica Pegula
Madison Keys, who co-hosts The Player’s Box podcast with Pegula, was watching her semi-final match with Aryna Sabalenka on the TV.
The match went to a deciding set, and Keys couldn’t contain her nerves as she watched her friend try to play herself into a US Open final.
“I was watching your semi-final sitting on the couch,” explained Keys to Pegula. “I just stressed myself sitting on the couch. I was like: ‘I am freaking out.’
I was like: ‘I think I’m at like 110 [BPM] right now, just watching you,’ the 2025 Australian Open champion revealed.
Unfortunately for Keys and Pegula, Sabalenka won the deciding set and went on to win the tournament for a second year in a row.
Keys, however, was impressed by what she saw from her friend and co-host as she went toe-to-toe with the World No. 1.
“It was like four or five games in a row you didn’t lose a single point, and then you went on like a four-game stretch where you won every single point on your serve,” said Keys.
“I was like, ‘Okay, this return game is it’, and then you would get break points, and then she would hit like a crazy ace or like this insane backhand cross.”
Pegula lost the deciding set 6-4 to Sabalenka, who then went on to beat another American, Amanda Anisimova, in the final.
What Jessica Pegula did straight after losing to Aryna Sabalenka
Pegula was bitterly disappointed with her US Open semi-final loss, and she revealed her mission to make herself feel better after the match.
“I hit up the candy bowl,” said Pegula on the same podcast with Keys, Jenny Brady, and Des Krawczyk. “I do love the Dum Dums. The root beer flavor is by far my favorite.
“I went to media and I was like, ‘Lollipop,'” continued the World No. 7. “I shoved a couple of those in my pocket.”
Pegula’s performance at the 2025 US Open was the best she’s ever performed at a Grand Slam event.
