It was the first match of WTA Top 10 ranked players at the 2026 Australian Open, and it was between good friends Jessica Pegula and defending champion Madison Keys.
Pegula has flown under the radar at this year’s Australian Open, not dropping a set in early morning matches.
She has been sharp, and against Keys, the only weakness may have been her second serve.
Keys, on the other hand, struggled with her serve, unforced errors, and perhaps some nerves.
Jessica Pegula passes the Round 4 test ✅
She's into the Australian Open quarterfinals! pic.twitter.com/kIGLzINNr5
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) January 26, 2026
For those of us who watched the 2025 Adelaide International final, it was the exacted opposite today. Keys could do no wrong there, and Pegula predicted that Keys would win the 2025 Australian Open if she played like that. That prediction turned out to be true. Pegula played with extreme precision on Sunday and vaults herself into the quarterfinals for the first time since 2023.
World #6 Jessica Pegula plays a great match to beat the defending champion Madison Keys 6-3, 6-4 and reach the QFs at the #AusOpen for a 4th time, first since 2023.
4th career top 10 win at a Slam
9th career Grand Slam QFKeys will leave the top 10 one year after her 1st GS. pic.twitter.com/uG9zdP4imR
— José Morgado (@josemorgado) January 26, 2026
Not only does Pegula take out the defending champion, but she also avoids the consequences of a disastrous bet that she made with her friend.
The Jessica Pegula And Madison Keys Bet
Keys will have to eat a Pegula family tradition, apple pie with melted cheddar cheese on top.
Podcast Co-Hosts Jessica Pegula and Madison Keys play tonight…
Madison Keys dives into a potential bet the two have made which highlights a piece of apple pie with cheese on it (??)
— Barstool Tennis (@StoolTennis) January 25, 2026
While this does not sound appetizing, it has far less negative consequences than what Pegula could have been subjected to.
Pegula’s family owns the Buffalo Bills, and had she lost, she would have been forced to wear a Travis Kelce/Taylor Swift Kansas City Chiefs jersey.
Jessica Pegula: 'No Chiefs jersey today' 🏈😂
(It was her side of the bet with Madison Keys) pic.twitter.com/ZPkwfK6Ddz
— Bastien Fachan (@BastienFachan) January 26, 2026
She admitted the bet was additional motivation for her to win.
Can Jessica Pegula Win The 2026 Australian Open?
Fans hope that Pegula can do it.
She has been close before.
Pegula admitted that she has been seeing the ball well during the tournament.
She has only dropped 17 games in four rounds of play and is perhaps playing the best tennis of her career in Melbourne right now.
Pegula is awaiting the winner of the Amanda Anisimova and Xinyu Wang Round of 16 match so we could be subjected to another all-American match.
