"He was like, 'you're up 4-1. What are you doing?' I was like, 'oh no, I'm 13.'" - Pegula, Keys among stars to discuss life away from the court, along with reminiscing on old tales

American professional tennis players Jessica Pegula, Madison Keys, Desirae Krawczyk, and Jennifer Brady sat down on their podcast to discuss their time ain New York whilst competing at Flushing Meadows.

Along with US Open talk, they answered a number of questions, which included stories on forgetting the score halfway through a match, losing shoes at Grand Slam events, and a point that they wished they could replay.

The quadruple have so far made the most of being back on home soil. They talked about their experience away from the court, switching off from tennis to attempt an escape room, and having some drinks.

"We did an escape room and then I don't know, went to a rooftop bar," Krawczyk said on The Player's Box Podcast. Pegula followed by saying: "That was a rough practice day. That was fun. It worked. I played so much. I've been playing a lot better since that night, to be honest, like way better. I sent my coach a picture of two drinks. Well, it was one me having one, does having another drink. And he said, 'love it. Only go around once'. I was like, what? But it's also so true. We only live once.

"Yeah, it was like a long week. I feel like the week before the US Open goes by so fast, but it gets so long. Drag like, yeah, you're like, wow, it's Tuesday. I'm here and I don't play for almost another week, which is I don't know, it can be like stressful and kind of fun. But I don't know, I guess."

When playing tennis, you are sometimes so zoned in that you can forget about the score and what it is. This can be a problem when you are also responsible in keeping score of your match. This incident once occurred to Krawczyk at a big junior tournament.

She said: "But we were doing the scorecard ourselves, and I was up 4-1. And of course, like I forgot the score throughout playing and I was just so zoned in. And she went to go change the score. She flipped it to her side and it was 4-1 to her side. Didn't even think anything of it. So by the time like games happened, I lost like two other games. So then it ended up being 6-1. And she's like, no, no, the score is 6-1. And I was like, no, it's 4-3. She's like, no, it's 4-1. And I was like, I was at 4-1. So then we had to go back. And she's like, no, I was at 4-1. And oh my gosh, my dad lost it. He was like, 'you're up 4-1. What are you doing?' I was like, 'oh no, I'm 13.'"

"So then I ended up losing the match because I was like flustered and I didn't know the score. And I, we had to have the linesman or chair umpire sit on our court because my dad was like, she can't keep score. You need to stay on court because this girl's cheating."

As well as being unable to keep score at times, Krawczyk has proved to have bad luck ahead of big ties, reminiscing on her first Grand Slam appearance when she lost her shoes right before her match.

She said: "Okay, well, this was my first slam. So Jess and I played the French Open together in 2019. And I was on a losing streak, just had a breakup. And we went our first round. Obviously left my shoes in the locker room where you can leave you can store your shoes in the locker room, leave it. They come in clean or whatever. And I come back the next day. Before our match we're playing I think, I can't remember who were playing but I come back to the locker room and my shoes are missing and I was went to the locker eight attendance and I said, 'Hey, I have a pair of shoes in here and they're gone.' I only brought one pair because I was you know, clay season I just thought bring one pair of clay season doesn't wear. So they're like, 'No, we can't find it.' And I'm like, Oh, my gosh, where am I going to find shoes? Like what? Where am I going to find shoes?

"So Kathy Rinaldi came in clutch and she was like, Hang on, I got a guy. Let me just ask him. I'm a size eight and a half. And they only had a nine and a half. And I was like, I'll take any shoe just give me whatever she like I got to play in about two hour and a half. brings you the shoes, wearing two pairs of socks, we actually win the match. And I had blisters all over my toe."

A similar situation occurred for Keys ahead of the biggest match of her career: the 2025 Australian Open final. "Before my final, I was walking into the locker room. And I was like, 'my shoes are gone'," Keys said. "So I had to wear a brand new pair of shoes for the final. But Bjorn [Fratangelo] was freaking out. He was like, 'you can't, you can't wear a new pair of shoes. ' I was like, very chill about it. The poor locker room ladies were like, 'Oh, my God, where are your shoes?' Because they're the greatest. I was like, 'guys, it's fine. It's totally fine. I have more shoes.' And they're like, 'no, you can't like new shoes.'"

Pegula made it all the way to the US Open final last year, but was ultimately defeated by the world number one, Aryna Sabalenka, who defended the title she won a year prior. In the match, Pegula looks back on an important point where she failed to take advantage, with it sticking to her to this day.

She said: "The final last year against I had a game point and I had this like backhand short ball situation that I feel like I like couldn't miss with my eyes closed. And I missed it. Because I kind of like second it was kind of short and like it kind of died low and I like changed my mind of whether I was going to go line or cross or something. And I missed it. And that one kind of replays in my head."

There has been a lot of talk and buzz around Carlos Alcaraz's new hairstyle ahead of the US Open. It does not seem to have done too much damage, with him setting up a semi-final clash against Novak Djokovic. However, it surprised Keys when she walked past the Spaniard after her opening round defeat.

Keys said: "I feel like it seems dramatic because he I mean, he has like such thick dark hair. And you're just so used to seeing that. And it was also after I lost and I was leaving and we passed each other and I was like, was that Carlos?"