Jessica Pegula added a dose of NFL-flavored drama to her Australian Open run after revealing a playful yet ‘diabolical’ bet she struck with fellow American player Madison Keys ahead of the fourth round in Melbourne. The Major kicked off on January 18 and will wrap up on February 1 at Melbourne Park.
Pegula’s latest outing at the Australian Open came on January 24 in the third round against Oksana Selekhmeteva at the Margaret Court Arena. The American delivered a commanding performance, securing a 6-3, 6-2 win. Following this win, she is now scheduled to face her podcast’s co-host and friend, Madison Keys, in the fourth round in Melbourne.
Before their clash, an episode from their podcast, ‘The Player’s Box,’ aired on January 25, offering fans a glimpse into the playful wager surrounding the match. During the episode, Pegula and Keys revealed the stakes of their bet: if Keys were to lose, she would have to eat an apple pie with cheese, while a Pegula defeat would see her don an NFL Kansas City Chiefs jersey.
For Pegula, an heiress to the Buffalo Bills franchise, the prospect is no small punishment. Reflecting on the bet during the podcast, she said: (11:03 onwards)
“My family owns the Buffalo Bills. They’ve owned it. Like, I have to sit there and wear this, and then there’s going to be pictures, and then people are going to be like true. Jess clearly lost a bet, and I’m going to have to suffer.”
She further went on to reveal how the bet was conceived in the first place, adding:
“We were walking the press, and we saw each other, and I was laughing about how they’re talking about this, you know, first-ever podcast hosts playing each other. Historical moment, and my agent was like, ‘You guys need to come up with like a funny bet or something’, and then I literally, like, yelled down the hallway. ‘I was like apple pie with cheese on it’. She’s like, ‘No, never.’ And I’m like, ‘Nope, I’m sticking to it.’ But then she came up with that one. So, I don’t know. We’ll see.”
Jessica Pegula Shared Her Feelings On Her Third-Round Clash At The Australian Open
Jessica Pegula met Oksana Selekhmeteva in the third round of the Australian Open and later reflected on the contest during her on-court interview. When asked about how she adjusted to the variety in her opponent’s game, Pegula noted that she was caught off guard by several of the Russian’s serving patterns, admitting she encountered some unexpected looks from Selekhmeteva throughout the match.
Explaining that some aspects unfolded as she expected while others caught her by surprise, she said: (0:59 onwards)
“Yeah, I felt like some things that I expected to happen happened, and then some things I had to adjust within the first couple games. Um, her serve wasn’t quite as spinny as I thought it was going to be. She was actually serving really well. I thought in the beginning of the first set I had a couple break points, and she hit some big serves. So you know, I had to kind of take that ball a little bit earlier, take the return a little bit earlier, bring my margins in a little bit, but I think I played pretty well just based on how I was feeling.”
She added:
“I wanted to stick to a strategy, but you know, sometimes you go out and you feel something different by the way you’re hitting the ball, but luckily today I think everything worked out pretty well.”
Jessica Pegula opened her 2026 season at the Brisbane International, where she couldn’t advance further than the semi-final round. She lost to Marta Kostyuk, who secured an impressive 6-0, 6-3 win.
