Pegula's apple pie with cheese prevails in Round of 16 battle with podcast cohost Keys

MELBOURNE, Australia -- The Australian Open match between defending champion Madison Keys and Jessica Pegula wasn't just an all-American matchup between two Top 10 players for a place in the quarterfinals.

It was matchup of two podcast cohosts. Keys and Pegula, alongside Desirae Krawczyk and Jennifer Brady, star as the hosts of the young Player's Box Podcast. Formed last summer during the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz, the group brings their casual humor and a look behind the scenes from the their daily lives as professional athletes. 

The match -- which Pegula won 6-3, 6-4 -- had important stakes on the line because of a friendly competition Pegula thought of. Had Keys prevailed, Pegula -- whose family owns the National Football League's Buffalo Bills -- would've had to wear a Kansas City Chiefs jersey. 

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

Much to the playful chagrin of Keys, the 2025 Australian Open champion will now have to eat a delicacy that is a Pegula family tradition -- apple pie with a piece of cheddar cheese. 

"She was, like, 'Mine's worse,'" Pegula said. 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 (court), 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.'"

Well, in the days leading up to Monday's match and despite initial reluctancy from Keys, the American stars came to terms and conditions of the friendly competition, and now Keys will indulge in the dessert.

"A bet is a bet, so I'll do it," Keys said to press after her loss to Pegula. "I hope it's less gross than I think it's going to be, but we will find out."

Pegula said Brady will be tasked with ensuring Keys holds up here end of the competition. 

"I don't think Madi 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," Pegula laughed.

It's been part of ongoing banter between the group from their Thanksgiving episode, where they shared their favorite desserts from the American holiday. The food pairing is common in New England and the Midwest in the United States.

"You bake apple pie. You put a piece of cheddar cheese on top of it, and then you microwave it and then eat it," Keys said Saturday. "She tried to make it sound like it was the most normal thing ever, and we were all just disgusted. She tried to double down and said, 'No, it's amazing.'"

Pegula will face compatriot Amanda Anisimova in the quarterfinals. Anisimova has now reached the quarterfinals or better at all four Grand Slams in her career, but Pegula holds the head-to-head 3-0.

"I'm just really happy that the work that I've done with my coaches, I really believe in that and what we have done, and to be able to kind of execute that stuff in a Grand Slam right off quickly.

"(It's the) 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."