Madison Keys Reveals How Tennis Calendar Caused ‘Dating Nightmare’, Jessica Pegula Also Shares ‘Weird’ Schedule Problems

Madison Keys and Jessica Pegula lifted two and three titles, respectively, this season.

Madison Keys Reveals How Tennis Calendar Caused ‘Dating Nightmare’, Jessica Pegula Also Shares ‘Weird’ Schedule Problems

Madison Keys, Jessica Pegula (Image via X/Wimbledon, The Tennis Gazette)

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Madison Keys and Jessica Pegula reveal the difficulties both of them have faced in their personal lives because of their profession. The 11-month tennis calendar doesn’t give the players much time for rest or to enjoy quality time with their loved ones.

Missing Thanksgiving or Christmas, weddings of friends and relatives are some of the many sacrifices that players make because of their job as a tennis player. Sometimes, players also lose friends because the latter fail to understand how difficult it is for the players to balance work and life. Keys, during The Player’s Box Podcast, revealed how the schedule affected her dating life. She said:

When I was first dating, it was a nightmare. It was literally like I’m not going to date anyone because they couldn’t understand, where it’d be like, ‘Oh! We can go out tonight, but then, ‘I’m actually going to be gone for eight weeks, so I’ll see you when I get back?’

Pegula recalled how guilty she used to feel when she first started playing on tour because her close friends would reschedule major events as they really wanted her to be there on those occasions. The World No.6 used to feel “terrible” as her friends were planning their schedule around her.

It’s so weird. I feel like some people they don’t get because they’re not in that world. So it’s so tough. I mean, my sister, who just got engaged, she was looking at these wedding venues… She knows that if I’m going to be there, it can’t be during the US Open. It can’t be during Wimbledon. It has to be in a reasonable range, and I always have a hard time with that.

Jessica Pegula said

For Pegula, missing Christmas is “horrible” for her. Keys joked that the amount of time she spent on the plane around Christmas and looking outside the window made her “depressed”.

Keys, this year, won her career’s biggest title. She defeated Aryna Sabalenka in the Australian Open final, denying her the three-peat. Prior to the Melbourne Major, Keys went past Pegula in the Adelaide International final.

Amanda Anisimova jokes about defeating Jessica Pegula for the first time

Amanda Anisimova finally registered her first win over compatriot Jessica Pegula. They met in the Miami Invitational exhibition event, prior to which, they played at A Racquet at The Rock exhibition, where the 31-year-old clinched the win.

Jessica Pegula and Amanda Anisimova (via X/Amanda Anisimova)
Jessica Pegula and Amanda Anisimova (via X/Amanda Anisimova)

In their official head-to-head matchups, Anisimova trails 0-3. They faced each other for the first time at the 2020 Cincinnati Open. Their next two encounters came in 2024, at the Charleston Open and the Canadian Open.

It feels like it’s taken me ten years, so it’s really nice to be standing here today. Haha, I’m kidding, but yeah, Jess is an incredible player, and it’s always such a tough match playing against her, even at the exhibitions. We played in Jersey last night. I don’t know if you guys got a chance to catch that, and we had another great match today, so it’s always a lot of fun.

Amanda Anisimova said

Pegula finished the season with three titles, which she clinched from six finals. The 2024 US Open finalist lifted the titles at the ATX Open, Charleston Open, and the Bad Homburg Open, losing the finals at the Adelaide International, Miami Open, and the Wuhan Open.

Anisimova made the finals of two Majors. She first suffered an embarrassing double bagel defeat at the hands of Iga Swiatek, and later failed to stop Aryna Sabalenka from defending her US Open crown. The World No.4 clinched two WTA 1000 titles at the Qatar Open and the China Open, and also made the finals of the Queen’s Club Championships.

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