“Insert the meme of the house burning down”: Jessica Pegula’s brutal 24 hours sums up preseason grind

The tennis offseason is often romanticized as a period of rest and relaxation, but for the hosts of The Player's Box, the reality is far more chaotic. In their latest episode, Desirae Krawczyk, Jennifer Brady, Madison Keys, and Jessica Pegula returned to the microphone not to discuss forehands and backhands, but to share a series of personal mishaps that defined their week. The episode kicked off with their signature "Unforced Errors" segment, proving that even elite athletes have days where absolutely nothing goes according to plan.

Jennifer Brady led the charge with a comedy of errors that would test anyone's patience, revealing a day that started with frustration on the court and ended in total confusion at her hotel room door. "I got a little frustrated on court today and smashed my racket." Brady confessed. "I just got back to the hotel like 30, 40 minutes ago and tried to open my room with my car keys instead of my, um, room key."

To top off her disjointed 24 hours, she added a bizarre medical moment: "I just got out of the shower and had a bloody nose. Um, and I thought it was just a big snot ball, but it was, uh, blood. And I never get bloody noses, so, um, that was a bit weird."

However, the most dramatic story belonged to Jessica Pegula, who recounted a harrowing 18-hour stretch involving a medical emergency with her dog, Maddie, and a sleepless night before training. "I had a wild last 18 hours... it's like not great. It's a little sad," Pegula began, before explaining the severity of the situation. "She had like glaucoma, basically went blind in her eye. Literally had surgery today... Her eyeball is gone. Like, yes, I didn't even tell you guys this because, well, one, I wanted to make sure she was okay. She's fine... But she literally, it's not funny, but like they took out her eye."

The ordeal turned into a nightmare of logistics and sleep deprivation. After hunting for emergency eye drops in the middle of the night, Pegula recalled, "It's like 2 a.m. at this point. I was like, this is a disaster... I probably went to bed at like 4 a.m." Naturally, the tennis world’s most dreaded visitors arrived just a few hours later. "7 a.m. doping comes. I was like, you're joking, right? Doping ever come when you have like a normal night's sleep? It never happens to me. They always come when I'm like out late. I get back from a late flight, emergency situation, whatever."

Despite the personal turmoil and lack of sleep, the professional grind continues, with Pegula having to tape up a hand that she described as "falling apart" just to get through practice. "I hit with Spencer today... for like 40 minutes just to hit... and my hand was so bad," she explained. "Literally today, my callus was literally like ripping off. I play with a leather grip too. So, it's like a bad combination."

She humorously compared her entire situation to a famous internet meme: "Insert the meme of the guy drinking the coffee with the house burning down in the back... but it's fine. It was like an unforced error of the last... My entire 24 hours straight unforced error."

Finally, the quartet played the role of pundits, handing out their own "Player's Box Year-End Awards" with a mix of serious analysis and inside jokes. The group unanimously agreed that the Roland Garros men’s final was the match of the year, while jokingly awarding the "Best Slam Moment" to Keys for a fictional Australian Open win. On a more serious note, they highlighted the breakthrough performances of young talents, with Krawczyk pointing to Victoria Mboko, noting that "Mboko winning a 1000 is pretty insane" and deserving of the Most Improved accolade.

When it came to the ultimate prize of Player of the Year, the debate centered on the strongest players during whole season. While Madison Keys championed, Elena Rybakina for her "insane end of the year" run over the last two months, Jessica Pegula made a strong case for Aryna Sabalenka's consistency on the biggest stages. "Sabalenka made like the finals of everything... every slam and then won the last US Open," Pegula argued, acknowledging that while many players shone, Sabalenka’s ability to go deep in every major set her apart in 2025.