"People are paying, they want to watch tennis": Madison Keys and Jessica Pegula give mentality on whether exhibitions are taken seriously

On the latest episode of Players Box, Desirae Krawczyk sat down with Madison Keys, Jessica Pegula and Jennifer Brady for a candid, funny and surprisingly honest look at the off-season exhibition circuit — where they’re playing, how seriously they take it, and what they think of the upcoming Sabalenka–Kyrgios “Battle of the Sexes” showdown.

Madison Keys confirmed she’s keeping things simple this year. “I am playing an EXO in Charlotte in a couple of days and I'm really excited. I'm playing Venus, and the boys are playing after us — Taylor Fritz and Frances Tiafoe. So it’ll be a fun time hanging out with everyone," they said on The Players Box.

With a laugh, she added that this will be her only event of the off-season: “I am doing just the one exhibition this year, kind of being a homebody. Very excited, just going to train away. And Jess is picking up the slack and playing all the other ones. Like every day.”

Jessica Pegula originally planned a quieter schedule — until a player withdrew. “Someone pulled out of the exhibition, so I'm playing two now — back-to-back with Amanda Anisimova. We’re playing the seventh and the eighth: first at the Prudential Center in New Jersey, then at Marlins Park in Miami the next day.”

What sold her on it? “It’s in the actual baseball field. Which is kind of why I said yes, because I was like, wait, that actually sounds kind of cool.”

She also admitted that her two additional local exhibitions are partly influenced by her partner: “I swear half these exhibitions I do are literally so Taylor can play golf there. It’s kind of like I’m doing it for him. It’s like a Christmas present.”

As for how these events come together, Pegula says it’s usually her agent: “The big ones are always through my agent. The two local ones — I know the head of tennis there, so they just text me because I practice at both clubs when I’m in Boca.”

Exhibitions may be unofficial, but the players insist they still put in effort. Jennifer Brady laughed as she recalled a previous matchup:

“I played Jenny in an EXO one time, and it was literally my fourth day playing. She had been training and she was going full. And I was like, Jennifer, we are not playing in the finals of the US Open. Chill.”

Brady admitted she doesn’t really have a half-speed mode: “I’m kind of all or nothing.” Pegula said she tries to find a balance: “I’m not good at making it look like I’m not trying. I like making it look cool. You try for a couple of games, then you keep it close. It’s not real, but you have to trick yourself to make it good.”

Keys made the point that fans deserve a show: “I'm not paying to go watch an exhibition… but I'm not going to watch someone hit 50-mile-an-hour serves and just bump the ball back. I want to watch actual tennis. So I'm definitely trying.”

Brady added that they use exhibitions to test things: “It’s a good opportunity to implement things you’re working on in practice into a competitive setting.”

All three agreed that exhibitions are far less stressful than the tour: “You're not there every day for two weeks,” Pegula said. “You show up, you play, you entertain, you have fun. It’s definitely not as stressful as an actual tournament.”

The group also weighed in on the upcoming Battle of the Sexes exhibition between Aryna Sabalenka and Nick Kyrgios — an event with unique rules.

Keys explained: “Sabalenka has a bigger court to hit into; Nick has a smaller court. I think Nick has one serve — or maybe they both have one serve.”

Brady confirmed: “Smaller court on Sabalenka’s side. One serve per player. Best of three sets with a ten-point tiebreaker for the third.”

The group agreed that the one-serve rule helps even the playing field, considering Kyrgios’ serve is widely regarded as one of the best in the sport.

Pegula added: “With two serves, guys don’t break him. With one, it’s maybe a little more even.”

As for the biggest question — what kind of form Kyrgios will show up in — the players could only shrug. “I don't know what shape Nick is in,” Keys said. “We haven't seen him in a while. But he's so talented. It'll be interesting.”