AUSTRALIAN OPEN

January 26, 2026

Jessica Pegula

Press Conference

J. PEGULA/M. Keys

6-3, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: Congratulations. Into the quarterfinals. Very solid performance. What were you most pleased about today?

JESSICA PEGULA: Happy with the way I was able to serve I think on some really big key points, execute my strategy. You know, I have been seeing, hitting, moving, I feel like very well this whole tournament, and to be able to keep that up against such a great player as Maddie and defending champion was going to be a lot tougher of a task today, but I think I was still able to do that really well.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. There was a video of you and Maddie just now on the cool-down bike and chatting. What were you talking about after when you've just been on the court? Do you get it completely away from the tennis, talking about the pie, or actually talking about the match?

JESSICA PEGULA: The pie... No, we were talking about a funny moment we had right before the match when we walked on, and we were just kind of, like, laughing about it. We didn't obviously get to talk about it, because we were about to play.

She just kind of said, Great job, guys. She brought up that kind of funny moment and funny conversation that we had. Yeah, that was all.

Q. In the middle of end of the first set and second, there was the aviation show going over. Were you briefed about that going into the match?

JESSICA PEGULA: No, wasn't briefed about it. I did know it was Australia Day, so I think we knew that that's what it was for.

That stuff doesn't really bother me. But, yeah, we weren't really briefed on it. I was, like, Wow, they are really having a whole show right now, like, in the middle of the match, in the heat of the moment.

So it didn't last very long, so it wasn't, like, that big of a deal, but yeah, I mean, it was right over, right over the stadium.

Q. In that period where Madison was coming back into it in the second set, and obviously she's done that quite a bit here the last year or so, what were you kind of telling yourself to stay calm and to stave that off and not that it was going to be another kind of comeback for her?

JESSICA PEGULA: Yeah, I think for me it was really important to focus on my serve. It was very tough on that one side serving into the sun. So, you know, I lost that game.

And I was kind of, like, you know what, I wasn't trying to get too down on myself. I was just kind of, like, serving into the sun, it's tough. She hit a couple good shots, whatever. Just don't dwell on it that much.

But obviously going back to kind of close it out, I needed to really stay focused now that I had a feeling of what it was like to serve into it, maybe what serves that were a little easier to hit. I think just keep my feet moving, keep my body weight going forward.

I think sometimes when you get a little nervous or, you know, maybe -- I was playing really well, and sometimes you kind of just relax, and it's hard to do that against someone like Maddie who can flip matches really quickly by hitting a couple of big forehands and winners, and all of a sudden she hits a couple good serves, and it's already back to even.

So I just wanted to kind of keep my momentum moving forward, keep everything moving forward, because no matter what happened, that was how I kind of needed to get the momentum back into the match.

That's really all I was focusing on. I thought I played a couple good points and focused on my serve. And not just my serve, but also serve and first ball, where I thought she was going to return so I could be ready for that first ball, you know, and not really give her any free points.

Q. Does it seem funny to you or feel like a long time ago that you were the player who couldn't get past the quarters of a Grand Slam, and now you're in the quarters, do you even think about that time anymore?

JESSICA PEGULA: Not really. I mean, again, that was something I felt like everyone else kind of came up with. I felt like if I'm making quarters of a slam, that's pretty good.

So I never really understood like the negativity towards it, or I guess just the headline of, you know, how does she get past the quarters? I mean, the fact that I'm putting myself in that many positions I feel like is a feat in itself. I didn't really quite understand that.

So to me, not really. Being back in a quarter I think, you know, obviously US Open, I did finals, made semis, and that felt like normal. So to me it doesn't really feel like that much different. I think maybe even now I'm even more comfortable knowing that I've gotten further, it doesn't feel, I don't know, as big of a deal to be in the quarters, even though that's really good, you know? I don't know. I guess I don't think about it that much.

Q. You spoke about it a little bit on the court, but what was your initial reaction to Maddie's offer if you lost you'd have to wear the Chiefs jersey?

JESSICA PEGULA: Yeah, that was bad. She was, like, Mine's worse. I was, like, What are you talking about? My family owns the Bills. This team has owned us in the postseason. Absolutely not, by far worse.

I saw Iva Jovic in the locker room before I went on, and she was, like, If you lose, that's way worse wearing the Chiefs jersey. I'm, like, Yeah, all she has to do is eat a piece of pie. What is the big deal?

Yeah, I think that was really some extra motivation, because that would have been a tough moment for me.

Q. Will you be making this pie or procuring it from...

JESSICA PEGULA: I don't know. I think Jenny said she's going to do it with Maddie in Orlando, so I think one of them, I'm sure it will Jenny, I don't think Maddie is going to go out of her way to get this pie or cheese, so I think it's going to be a Jenny task.

Q. Did you hear about the bad rap that this pie has been getting?

JESSICA PEGULA: You know, I just had this conversation, people eat apples with cheese. It's not that big of a deal. It's definitely not as bad as it sounds.

We got off to a bad start because I randomly said it in a recording, and everyone freaked out, because someone pulled up a picture, and if you Google it, it looks really bad. They also Googled it, looked like it was a Kraft single piece of cheese.

I was, Okay, no, get like a good cheese. Don't put a Kraft, the plastic thing and just put it on there and, like, that sounds really bad. So you've got to get a good cheese. It's not as bad as everyone, yeah, thinks.

Q. You have just beaten a friend. You could play another American next. Obviously it's great for you guys that America is having such a good tournament, but I wonder, does it make it harder or easier if you see someone from the same country on the other side of the net, or does it make no difference to you whatsoever?

JESSICA PEGULA: Honestly, I don't mind, like, the familiarity of it. I think sometimes it can be tough, because you almost know each other too well, that it almost is like a weird feeling beating them going to the next round, because they're someone that you know well, that you see all the time, you practice with all the time, maybe you train with them, maybe you live near each other.

But at the same time, we are also I think used to no matter where we're from. We're with each other pretty much every week, traveling a lot on the same flights, eating in the same dining, staying at the hotel a lot. We see each other so much that I think you kind of have that feeling with most of the girls.

So it will be cool to see if we can have another all-American showdown. At least one of us will get through, and I think that's great for American tennis.

Yeah, it's been pretty crazy how well the women have been doing and how many top-ranked girls there are. I'm just happy to be a part of that conversation.

Q. You said the other day about entering a flow state when you're playing your best, not dropped a set. How do you rate your level now compared to -- I think this is your ninth Grand Slam quarter, something like that? Where do you see your level at this point compared to the other times you've got this deep?

JESSICA PEGULA: I feel like I'm a better -- I mean, I don't know obviously every match. Obviously there are some that maybe stood out that you played unbelievable, but I think in general, I feel like I'm a better player right now.

I feel like I have so many more tools. I think that my movement has gotten better. I think my serve is a lot better than it used to be, and that really helped me today. I think I'm just overall a better player.

It doesn't always mean that you're going to win the match, but I do feel like, you know, playing against all these girls with the depth, I think I have a lot more tools to kind of figure out a way to win.

You know, I have worked really hard on that over the last year, and it's a tough balance trying to push yourself. Even though you're already doing well, how do you kind of get a little bit better but not kind of take yourself out of how you play?

I'm just really happy that the work that I've done with my coaches, you know, I really believe in that and what we have done, and to be able to kind of execute that stuff in a Grand Slam, you know, right off quickly, second tournament of the year for me, I think will give me a lot of confidence, not just here but just going into the year.

For me, I have always been the type of player where I get frustrated when I feel like I'm not getting better. And I still think that, you know, at my age, I've already had a lot of really great results. Being 31, I still feel like I'm improving as a player. So that is what gets me the most excited.