Coco Gauff recently had a hilarious take on a gelato outing in Rome. She playfully called out Jessica Pegula, Madison Keys, and others from The Player’s Box podcast over their review session.
During the Italian Open, Gauff joined a group of American players for dinner in Rome, which was followed by a gelato stop. Pegula, who co-hosts The Player’s Box podcast alongside Keys, Desirae Krawczyk, and Jennifer Brady, turned the outing into a fun social media moment, getting fellow players to rate their gelato in a chaotic and entertaining video.
However, speaking later in an interview with Tennis Channel, Coco Gauff jokingly exposed the group, claiming that Pegula, the daughter of billionaire Terry Pegula, didn’t actually pay for the gelato. She added that neither Keys nor Krawczyk chipped in either, while Brady wasn’t even present at the outing.
“Someone commented and they were like, ‘Did she pay for your gelato?’ and I was like, ‘No, she didn’t.’ She asked us and I didn’t give her the idea but I have given her ideas for The Players’ Box before but she hasn’t used any of them. I thought she could have paid for our gelato and I asked her. I was like, ‘You are not gonna pay big mama? Especially Jess.’ I mean if you know, you know. I was like, ‘Girl!,'” Coco Gauff said.
“Looking at the views, I think that’s gonna be one of their most viewed videos so I feel like we should get something out of it. I am specially talking to Jess here but also Madison, Dez. Jenny wasn’t there so she gets a pass,” she added.
Coco Gauff, Jessica Pegula and Madison Keys kick off Italian Open campaign in style
Coco Gauff, Jessica Pegula, and Madison Keys have all made strong starts to their 2026 Italian Open campaigns. Gauff leads the American contingent as the third seed, with Pegula seeded fifth and Keys 17th.
Gauff opened with a solid 6-3, 6-4 win over Tereza Valentova and will next face Solana Sierra in the third round. Pegula, meanwhile, cruised past Zeynep Sonmez 6-4, 6-0 and is set to take on Rebeka Masarova next.
As for Keys, she battled past compatriot Peyton Stearns 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 to book her place in the third round, where she will face Nikola Bartunkova.
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