"I ran over thinking, ‘Oh my God, I’m going to hit her or break my wrist on the chair": The perils of mixed doubles as Jessica Pegula recalls nearly hurting Elena Rybakina

Eisenhower Cup may be a short exhibition event, but it still manages to produce plenty of stories — something that became clear during a recent episode of the Players’ Box podcast featuring Jessica Pegula, Madison Keys, Jennifer Brady and Desirae Krawczyk.

Pegula had only just stepped off court after competing in the fan-favourite Tie Break Tens format at BNP Paribas Open when the group recorded the podcast, giving her plenty to share about the night’s action.

Pegula teamed up with Tommy Paul for the mixed-doubles exhibition, though she joked their partnership may already be under review. “I played with your partner from last year, Maddie, when you guys made the finals — Tommy Paul,” Pegula explained. “Tommy’s great. Love Tommy. I think we all love Tommy here. He’s a lot of fun, good energy. But I think we might be done. I don’t know if we’re meant to play mixed together.”

Paul, she said, was particularly frustrated by his record in the 10-point tiebreak format.

“He was a little distraught because besides making the final one year with Maddie, he’s lost first round the other three years — two of them with me,” Pegula said. “He also came from the MGM Slam thing they did where there was a 10-point tiebreaker tournament and he lost first round there too.

“He was like, ‘I just really want to win one of these 10-point tiebreakers. I’m so sick of losing.’”

Despite the defeat, Pegula still enjoyed the atmosphere around the event, which regularly draws a full stadium and gives fans a chance to see players interact more casually than during a traditional tour match.

“It’s something different,” she said. “It’s obviously not as fun when you lose first round and you’re kind of supposed to stay throughout the rest of it, but it’s a cool event.”

The eventual winners once again were Taylor Fritz and Elena Rybakina, a pairing Pegula jokingly described as almost unfair in the short-format contest. “I kind of think Taylor and Elena are like total cheats in a 10-point tiebreak,” she laughed. “Their serves — it’s just not fair.”

Pegula also shared some insight into the lively courtside commentary that often accompanies the event, particularly from Fritz.

“The guys were all talking about how Fritz is the ‘Exo King’ because he loves these exhibitions so much,” she said. “He’s really into it and loves the crowd. If there’s a good point or a bad point he’ll look over and make a comment to everyone sitting there.

“Emma Navarro and I were sitting next to each other and he’d look over at us and we’d be like, ‘What?’ We’re not joining in on this commentary.”

One player who particularly impressed the group was rising American talent Learner Tien.

“I’d never really seen Learner play properly in person before and he’s really good,” Pegula said. “All the guys were hyping him up like, ‘Dude, Learner is so good. He’s legit. The real deal.’”

She added that fans might be surprised by the tone of conversation among the players during these exhibitions.

“Someone asked me afterwards if the guys were just talking trash the whole time,” Pegula said. “And I was like, ‘No, they’re actually gassing people up the entire time.’ Ben, Tommy, Taylor — they’re all just talking about how good everyone is.”

Pegula’s own match also featured a moment of chaos before it even properly began, when she and Paul realised they had barely warmed up before play started.

“We didn’t realise we only had a minute to warm up,” she explained. “They were still interviewing the team before us, so I assumed the clock hadn’t started yet. Then suddenly the umpire said, ‘Time.’

“Tommy and I looked at each other like, ‘Wait, we haven’t even hit a volley or a serve.’ Those are basically the only shots you need in a tiebreak.”

The rushed preparation led to a shaky start for several players, including Pegula herself.

“Everyone started double-faulting,” she said. “I double-faulted the first point because I was so tight.”

There was also a near-miss involving Mirra Andreeva and Rybakina sitting courtside.

“I almost took out Rybakina’s knee,” Pegula joked. “Bublik hit this angle volley toward where all the players were sitting and I ran over thinking, ‘Oh my God, I’m going to hit her or break my wrist on the chair.’ So I just had to stop.”

While the Eisenhower Cup provided plenty of entertainment, the conversation soon turned back to the realities of tournament week in the California desert, where the players’ schedules are often packed with sponsor obligations and media commitments.

Pegula described arriving early for a packed few days that included an Adidas shoot, WTA media commitments and appearances for jewellery sponsor Gorjana.

“I feel like you definitely have to plan out your practices and all your sponsorship schedules way in advance,” she said. “Otherwise it becomes a lot once you get here.”

Keys, meanwhile, tried to front-load her commitments so she could focus on the tennis later in the week.

“I basically made my Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday busy, and now I’m done and I just get to play tennis,” she said.