The stars of the ATP and WTA Tours continue to perform over the winter break in off-season exhibitions.
Choosing to stay active, Madison Keys and Jessica Pegula signed up for exhibition events in December.
Keys played Venus Williams in Charlotte, while Pegula took on Amanda Anisimova in Miami.
In straight sets, Keys defeated Williams 7-6, 6-0, before Pegula lost to Anisimova, 2-6, 5-7.
During the latest episode of ‘The Player’s Box Podcast‘, Keys and Pegula revealed whether they actually try to win when playing exhibitions.
Jessica Pegula and Madison Keys say they don’t feel stressed when playing exhibitions
2025 Australian Open champion Keys remembered an exhibition where her co-host and fellow American, Jennifer Brady, gave 100%.
“I played Jenny [Brady] in an exho one time, and it was literally like my fourth day playing, and she had been training, and she was going full, I was like Jennifer, we are not playing in the finals of the US Open, chill,” she said.
“I feel like the fans want to watch tennis. I’m not going to watch someone go and hit 50mph serves, and just bump the ball back, I want to watch actual tennis,” Brady replied.
What do you really think about tennis exhibitions?
Keys believes that exhibitions are a good opportunity for players to try out things they’ve worked on in training.
“I’m definitely trying,” she said.
“It’s also a good opportunity, if you’re working on stuff in practice, to try and implement it in competitive match play.
“But like Jenny said, people are paying, you want them to see a good product, so I absolutely go out, and I’m trying.
“It’s just maybe not, the level of stress isn’t there, so it just seems a little bit more friendly, because we’re not trying to kill the other person, but we’re definitely still trying.”
Weighing in with her thoughts, Pegula explained what she struggles with during exhibitions.
“I feel like I’m not good at making it look cool,” she said.
“I try to just play full, but then also not full. You try for a couple of games, then you try to keep it close.
“You’re not stressed, trying like it’s real, because it’s not, but you kind of have to trick yourself in order to make it good.”
The world number six responded to fans who criticize players for pulling out of tournaments while signing up for exhibitions.
“I think sometimes fans get ‘They pull out of this tournament, but then they’re going to play these exhibitions’, that’s the thing, we’re trying, but the stress level is way less than you playing a Grand Slam or a big 1000 [tournament],” said Pegula.
“Just the everyday stress, one, you’re not there every day for two weeks, there’s not all this chaos going on.
“You show up, and you play the match, you entertain and have fun.
“It’s definitely not as stressful as a normal tournament.
“It’s more fun.”
Pegula and Keys may be enjoying themselves during the off-season, but focus will soon turn to the 2026 Australian Open…
Can Jessica Pegula or Madison Keys win the Australian Open?
Keys will return to Melbourne as the defending champion, but she is far from the clear favorite.
Which American man and woman do you think will go furthest at the Australian Open?
Things didn’t quite go to plan for Keys after winning the Australian Open in January, as she finished the year ranked seventh in the world.
2025 WTA year-end rankings
| Rank | Name | Country | Points |
| 1 | Aryna Sabalenka | Belarus | 10,870 |
| 2 | Iga Swiatek | Poland | 8,395 |
| 3 | Coco Gauff | USA | 6,763 |
| 4 | Amanda Anisimova | USA | 6,287 |
| 5 | Elena Rybakina | Kazakhstan | 5,850 |
| 6 | Jessica Pegula | USA | 5,583 |
| 7 | Madison Keys | USA | 4,335 |
| 8 | Jasmine Paolini | Italy | 4,325 |
| 9 | Mirra Andreeva | Russia | 4,319 |
| 10 | Ekaterina Alexandrova | Russia | 3,375 |
Pegula, on the other hand, lost in the third round of this year’s Australian Open to Serbia’s Olga Danilovic.
She is, however, a former three-time quarterfinalist at the event, reaching the last eight in 2021, 2022, and 2023.
Jessica Pegula at the Australian Open (Since 2020)
- 2020 Australian Open – Jessica Pegula lost in 1R to Taylor Townsend
- 2021 Australian Open – Jessica Pegula lost in QF to Jennifer Brady
- 2022 Australian Open – Jessica Pegula lost in QF to Ashleigh Barty
- 2023 Australian Open – Jessica Pegula lost in QF to Victoria Azarenka
- 2024 Australian Open – Jessica Pegula lost in 2R to Clara Burel
- 2025 Australian Open – Jessica Pegula lost in 3R to Olga Danilovic
Only time will tell if she can return to the latter stages of the event in 2026, as Pegula continues her search for a maiden Grand Slam title.
The 2026 Australian Open is scheduled to begin on Sunday, January 18.
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