Australian Open 2026: Jessica Pegula ends Madison Keys’ title defense and wins apple pie bet
Keys, who had previously insisted she would not eat the delicacy, admitted defeat and said she would accept the terms of the bet.
“Bets are bets, so I’m going to do it. I hope it’s not as serious as I thought it was, but I guess we’ll find out,” Keys said at the postgame press conference.
If the ninth seed wins its fourth-round game and goes on to defend its title, the bet on Keys’ side involves Pegula — whose billionaire parents own the NFL team the Buffalo Bills — wearing a Kansas City Chiefs jersey.
“She wanted me to wear [Travis] Kelsey scratched Taylor Swift’s Chiefs jersey,” Pegula said. “Honestly, I had a lot of motivation not to wear that today. “
The 2024 U.S. Open finalist wrote “No Chiefs jersey today” on courtside cameras after his win, and the two chatted and laughed in the locker room after the game.
Keys, who beat Sabalenka in the final at Melbourne Park last year, said she was “still proud of myself” despite withdrawing.
“Coming back and being the defending champion and dealing with all the extra pressure and nerves – I’m really proud of the way I handled it,” she said.
