"I was lying on towels on the floor": Jessica Pegula recalls Krejcikova moment as Brady and Krawczyk share bathroom break fails

Professional tennis is filled with long matches, mental battles, and grueling travel schedules—but sometimes, the funniest and most revealing stories come from the least glamorous places. For Jessica Pegula, Jennifer Brady, Madison Keys, and Desirae Krawczyk, bathrooms and names became the unlikely stars of their latest conversation on The Player’s Box.

Between rare mid-match breaks, fake flushes, and confusion over tournament rules, the quartet shared anecdotes that showed how even elite athletes find themselves in messy, very human situations.

Pegula was the first to confess how unusual it is for her to leave the court mid-match. “I never take bathroom breaks ever,” she explained. “Maybe I can count on one hand the number of times in my entire life. But when I was playing Krejcikova, I felt my back tightening up at four-three in the first set. Luckily I won the set 6-3, and then I took a bathroom break.” It wasn’t a tactical pause—it was a desperate attempt to keep her body moving.

That break, however, looked nothing like the polished routines fans might imagine. “The bathroom was gross, the floor was nasty,” Pegula admitted. “So I laid down two towels and literally did crunches and core activation stuff. I needed to make sure my back didn’t totally lock up on me. I was like, get my five crunches in!” Lying on a locker room floor just to survive the next set isn’t the glamorous side of tennis, but Pegula’s honesty showed what players endure to compete.

While Pegula fought off spasms, Brady offered a tale that leaned more toward comedy than survival. “I took a bathroom break once that I can really remember,” she said. “I was playing Misaki Doi. I lost the first set, won the second set. She takes a bathroom break, so I’m like, I’m going to take one too. I go in the stall, fake a flush, then come back out. And then I lose the third set 6-0. The bathroom break was longer than the third set!”

Brady admitted that experiment cured her from ever using breaks as mind games again. “No more bathroom breaks for me,” she laughed. “I’m done trying to play those tactics. It’s not worth it.” The group agreed that while fans often complain about players abusing bathroom breaks, the reality is less sinister. More often than not, it’s about survival—or, in Brady’s case, a failed strategy that backfired spectacularly.

Desirae Krawczyk chimed in about those who take it too far: “There are players who do it every single match. They lose the first set, they’re going for a bathroom break. After every set—it’s just clockwork. And when they bring a water bottle and a towel in there, I’m like, what are you even doing? Are you drinking water while peeing? Are you changing clothes? What is happening?” Her sarcasm had everyone laughing, but it highlighted a rule that players know is often stretched.

Not all breaks involve bathrooms. Krawczyk told a story about doubles confusion at the US Open, where she mistakenly believed the heat rule applied. “We went in and the physio said, you guys should take an ice bath. So I did a three-minute ice bath during this ten-minute break. And then the supervisor comes in and goes, what are you doing in here? Doubles doesn’t get that!” The others erupted in laughter. “That is unhinged behavior,” one of them exclaimed.

Even away from the courts, the group’s camaraderie was on full display. Madison Keys described watching Pegula’s semifinal nervously from home. “I was just stressed sitting on the couch,” she said. “My heart was at like 110. And these two were asleep next to me while I was freaking out.” It was a fitting reminder that behind the memes, cramps, and awkward bathroom encounters, these top athletes still share the same anxieties, laughter, and friendship as anyone else.