15 | Thanksgiving Traditions, This or That & Buffalo

Summary

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The Player’s Box: Episode 15

Thanksgiving Traditions, This or That & Buffalo
Release Date: December 2, 2025
Hosts: Madison Keys, Jessica Pegula, Jennifer Brady, Desirae Krawczyk

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Episode Overview

This episode of The Player’s Box is a festive, behind-the-scenes romp as the quartet of tennis pros—Madison Keys, Jessica Pegula, Jennifer Brady, and Desirae Krawczyk—dive into their Thanksgiving traditions (or lack thereof), swap stories from the road, play games (including a Thanksgiving "This or That"), preview Jess’s Buffalo charity gala, and answer fan questions. Laughter, light roasting, and candid confessions abound as the hosts share personal mishaps, food hot-takes, and the realities of life on the tennis circuit.

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Main Segments & Timestamps

1. Unforced Errors & Winners of the Week

01:09 – 06:21

Highlights:

• Jenny Brady narrowly avoids hitting a deer while driving, humorously acknowledging her consistent driving mishaps:

  “Apparently maybe I’m the problem because all of my unforced errors happen while I’m driving. RIP Iggy.” (01:44 – Jenny)

• Jess Pegula introduces her new puppy, Mabel—who promptly poops on the breakfast area’s banquet seating:

  "She jumps on everything. And so at some point, she jumped up there and decided to go number two." (02:36 – Jess)

• Maddie details 20 minutes of podcast technical difficulties, naming herself as the culprit:

  "There was lots of movement happening from one of us. I won’t single that person out…" (03:23 – Maddie)

• Desirae admits to burning cornbread stuffing at Friendsgiving ("oven on for six hours extra") but is pleased everyone had fun with Jeopardy and white elephant games.

Notable Moment:
The group tallies up Jenny’s driving-related errors with good-natured teasing, and Mabel the puppy makes her on-air debut.

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2. Thanksgiving Talk: Plans, Traditions, & Food Debates

06:28 – 14:51

Whereabouts & Traditions:

• Desirae is in the desert after Friendsgiving; Jenny is headed to Boca/Raton and then Buffalo; Maddie to Pittsburgh and then Buffalo; Jess is already Buffalo-bound for the family and her charity gala.
• The quartet admits tennis tour life makes holiday traditions tricky—most years are spent away from home or at tournaments:

  "It's hard to have a consistent holiday tradition because we're very rarely, like, actually at home for holidays." (08:48 – Maddie)

Food Favorites & Controversies:

• Top Dishes: Mac & cheese, cornbread, various stuffings (“my mom’s stuffing is the best”—Jenny at 10:10).
• Hotly discussed: stuffing mix-ins (sausage vs. cranberries), sweet potato casseroles (with/without marshmallows), apple pie with melted cheese ("It's like sweet and salty!"—Jess, 12:47).
• Maddie proclaims herself “the anti-Thanksgiving person” regarding classic foods (11:54).
• Dessert must-haves: Pumpkin pie (Jenny), Apple pie (Maddie and Jess, who melts cheddar or American cheese on it), banter over the right cheeses ensues.

Memorable Quotes:

• "I think I'm, like, the anti Thanksgiving person, because all of, like, the foods that everyone is like, no, that's Thanksgiving, I'm like, no, thanks. I'll pass." (11:54 – Maddie)
• “My mom’s stuffing...phenomenal.” (10:10 – Jenny)

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3. Hostess with the Mostest? Who Would Cook Thanksgiving

13:11 – 16:30

• Group agrees Des and Maddie are most trustworthy to cook (until Des confesses nearly burning cornbread).
• Maddie gets assigned main courses and desserts; Jenny offers to taste-test, Jess is dubbed “bartender” ("Espresso martinis all the way." – 15:23).

Notable banter:
“Could you imagine Dez, like, frying? There is no—well, I mean, yeah.” (14:21)

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4. Thanksgiving ‘This or That’ Game

16:51 – 19:02

The hosts riff through quick-fire choices:

• Blankets or sweaters: Blankets (Des), Sweaters (Jenny)
• Pie: Apple (most), Pumpkin (Jess)
• Travel vs. Home: Hosting (Maddie, Des), Being hosted (Jess, Jenny)
• Football vs. Parade: Football unanimous
• Black Friday: Sleep in!
• Board games vs. movies: Board games.
• Family drama: “Lean into it. Drop little bombs all night to see who takes them.” (18:18 – Maddie)
• Kids or adult table: Split (kids – Jenny/Des; adults – Jess).
• Thanksgiving outfits/pets: All vote pets in outfits.

Hilarious quote:
“You just gotta be like…drop little bombs all night to, like, see who takes them.” (18:18 – Maddie)

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5. The Ultimate Tennis Thanksgiving Table

22:17 – 24:56

If given five open seats, who would they invite?

• Jenny: Marat Safin (“he’s nice to look at” 22:33)
• Desirae: “Foe” (Frances Tiafoe) for boundless energy and likely being late
• Jess: Serena Williams (“she’d be down for a good time” 23:00)
• Maddie: Emma Navarro (“so weird and so funny”; “in the best way” 23:35), Laura Robson (karaoke machine, TikToks, and party hosting skills).

Memorable anecdote:
Maddie ships fancy napkins from the US to Laura Robson in the UK (“These are some expensive napkins…” 24:34).

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6. Jess’s Buffalo Charity Gala Preview

25:03 – 27:32

• Jess explains the upcoming rescue/service dog benefit—her first major charity event, “Casino Royale” themed, complete with dressed-up dogs and non-profits.
• "We're like, kind of all panicking. It's also just a busy week with Thanksgiving, but it was kind of the only weekend that we could do it this year." (26:10 – Jess)
• The tennis crew, plus friends, are Buffalo-bound for the event and a “wing tour” and Sabres game.

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7. Buffalo, Josh Allen, and the Great Wing Debate

27:32 – 32:36

• Jenny (a loyal Josh Allen fan) insists she’d be speechless if she ran into the Bills QB.
• The group plans a Buffalo “wing tour”; Jenny, ever the researcher, is critiqued for being too picky (“I just said that they look a little saucy, and I don’t love…” 31:12).
• Maddie ribs Jenny for overanalyzing wing joints based on “garnish.”
• “No, I just said that they look a little saucy, and I don’t love…” (31:12 – Jenny)
• The group plans to blog the adventure and see if Jenny keeps her word about being easy to please.

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8. Davis Cup, Comebacks & Tennis Life

33:12 – 39:06

• Italy’s Davis Cup and Billie Jean King Cup three-peat lauded; hosts marvel at Italy's tennis fever.
• Story of young Kaboli idolizing Berrettini and winning Cup together is shared ("really cute" 34:17)
• Holger Rune back on court five weeks after Achilles surgery sparks discussion:
  • Dasha’s (Daria Kasatkina) social post about rehab exhaustion and progress is referenced.
  • Jenny: “It's so exhausting. It's so draining. You have to, like, do, like, those small progressions, and they are…It's more draining mentally than it is physically.” (37:14)
  • Maddie: Tennis comeback is “so much sitting in a chair swinging a racket you want to break all of your rackets.” (36:51)

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9. Autographs & Boundaries: The Connor Bedard Debate

40:25 – 47:00

• Hockey’s Connor Bedard goes viral for refusing an autograph from an adult reseller; hosts reflect on similar experiences.
• Maddie: “I'll just be like, are you selling these? ... Since it’s my face, I kind of want to get paid for it.”
• Desirae: “The best part is when you…they come back, it’s printed, and they're like, can you sign it? And I’m like, whoa.” (42:32)
• Jess: “From a female perspective…the boundaries thing gets really weird because they tend to always be older men. It’s just a little creepy…When that happens, it kind of ruins your want to do it again.” (45:18)

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10. Pop Culture Round-up

47:19 – 53:38

• Maddie touts Real Housewives of Salt Lake City as “absolute cinema” and recaps the drama (“it is so funny—all of the comments are so unhinged” 48:59).
• Jenny quickly worn out after one wild episode of RHOSLC, mentions a castmate arrested for defrauding the elderly (“it all unfolded on camera” 50:52).
• The group discusses Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, Dancing with the Stars finale predictions, and “Landman” as the next show on the queue.

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11. Who Am I? – Guess the Player Game

53:38 – 55:32

• Desirae delivers clues about a current British player whose home turf is Wimbledon, and whose game is marked by grit (listener challenge to guess in the comments).
• Previous answer: Anna Blinkova (revealed by Jess).

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12. Fan Questions

55:32 – 61:03

Q1: Pros/cons of playing doubles with a close friend?

• Des: "Can be great…Playing at a high level with your best friend is special. But, it can be hard if a match goes south—how do you navigate that?" (56:21)
• Jenny: “Don’t mix business with…pleasure.” (57:48)

Q2: Favorite match lost but played well?

• Jess: “A lot of my recent matches with [Aryna] Sabalenka…You lose but…you feel like you put your best self out there.” (58:52)
• Maddie: Wimbledon vs. Jasmine Paolini—“unbelievable atmosphere…super fun, but…walked off in tears.” (59:38)
• Jenny: US Open 2020 vs. Naomi Osaka—“probably one of the best matches” (59:59)
• Des: Recalls several high-level matches; “can’t just go off the court and be so pissed…done such good things in the match.” (60:35)

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Notable Quotes & Moments

• “Lean into it [family drama]. Drop little bombs all night to see who takes them.” (18:18 – Maddie)
• “If you do sell them, I feel like since it’s my face, I kind of want to get paid for it.” (41:44 – Maddie)
• “I think you just need to communicate…anything.” (58:33 – Desirae, on doubles with friends)
• “It’s more draining mentally than it is physically.” (37:14 – Jenny, discussing sports rehab)

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Episode Tone

Conversational, candid, and filled with sisterly ribbing. The hosts alternate between nostalgic, tongue-in-cheek, and laugh-out-loud funny, giving fans a window not just into their lives as athletes, but as friends juggling wild travel, sweet and chaotic dogs, and the quirks of tennis tour life.

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For Listeners

Whether you're in it for the tennis, the holiday banter, or just to hear athletes be utterly themselves, this Thanksgiving episode is a warm, relatable, and thoroughly entertaining listen.

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Next Time: Tune in for more tales from the tennis road, unfiltered opinions, and fan Q&A (and to hear if you guessed Des's mystery Wimbledon Brit right).

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[End of Summary]

Transcript

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[Maddie]

This is the players box.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Hi everyone and welcome back to another episode of the Players Box. I'm Desiree Krafczyk alongside Jenny Brady, Madison Keys and Jess Bagula. Please remember to give our podcast five stars and to subscribe to our YouTube. As always, we very much appreciate it. So every week we start with an unforced error where we share our tiny failures or mishaps that happen in our personal lives. If we're having a good week, we will throw in a quote unquote winner of the week. So with that being said, Jenny, would you like to start us off?

[Jenny Brady]

Yeah. So about 30 minutes ago when I was leaving UST, yay. I was driving and almost hit a deer that ran out in front of me. Maddie actually said, you know, apparently maybe I'm the problem because all of my unforced errors happen while I'm driving. Rip Iggy. So yeah, my unforced error was. Maybe it's a winner too. Unforced error slash winner. I didn't hit the deer.

[Jess Bagula]

He survived.

[Jenny Brady]

The deer survived. So he can go fulfill his endeavors. Jess.

[Jess Bagula]

Well, I would say I have a winner. I got Taylor and I got a new puppy. Her name is Mabel and she's a German short haired pointer. Literally just picked her up yesterday. So we'll see how it goes. She's currently snoring a little bit in the background here. She's a loud snorer. Hopefully it doesn't interfere. And unforced air. She already pooped on my like, breakfast area. I don't know how to describe it. She, like, jumped up and she pooped. No, it's like a banquet. It's like a banquet seating area, like the one I like. My little breakfast banquet. And she jumps on everything. And so at some point, she jumped up there and decided to go number two. So that's also an unforced error. Found that this morning. It's lovely, Maddie.

[Maddie]

Well, I had an unforced error, but then I think the last, like, 20 minutes of my life has become the unforced error. Trying to get the technical difficulties of filming down. There was lots of movement happening from one of us. I won't single that person out. And then we had a little bit of, like, a microphone issue where we were the wrong way, saying that we were all the way down and, like, our ears were bleeding. But I'm gonna say that was my.

[Jess Bagula]

Unforced error of the last 20 minutes.

[Jenny Brady]

Yeah.

[Maddie]

Des, do you want to share yours?

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Yes, I first will say that was me. Yes. That was my technical difficulties. Sorry, Mark in advance. I have another unforced error, which was I hosted Friendsgiving this past weekend, and I was heating up a bunch of food in the. In the oven, and I thought I took everything out, and everyone ate, had a good time. We played Jeopardy. We did our white elephant, and I was cleaning up, and I'm like, why does something smell like it's burning? And I look, and it's the other batch of cornbread stuffing. Luckily, we had enough of that, but, like, I literally left it in there. And Steve. Steve Weissen was there, and he was like, no, no, it's probably fine. So we open it up, and it's, like, crispy. Like, it's. It's, like, dark, like, black. He said, no, let me just see if it's. It's okay. And he's like, it's kind of edible. And I was like, okay, well, that was. I had the oven on for six hours extra.

[Maddie]

I was like, oh, my God.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

So, yes, that was my unforced error, but Friendsgiving was great.

[Jess Bagula]

So I think you win.

[Jenny Brady]

Yeah. Wow. You almost burned your house down.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

No, I think I win because I have two unforced errors that just happened in the last. I guess that's true. 48 hours, but.

[Jess Bagula]

Yay, combination.

[Maddie]

Yay.

[Jenny Brady]

Yeah.

[Jess Bagula]

Total tally.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Yeah.

[Jess Bagula]

How.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

What's our tally?

[Jenny Brady]

We have.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

We have to get a tally going.

[Jenny Brady]

Yeah.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

We need to get winners and unforced. Who's got the most unforced errors? I feel like Jenny's got a lot of driving unforced errors.

[Jenny Brady]

I have two.

[Maddie]

No, you had another one in your.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

That's four as well.

[Maddie]

Everything.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Oh, yeah.

[Jenny Brady]

Honking my horn.

[Jess Bagula]

And then also the one where you were in your PJs was involved with you driving somewhere. Oh, no.

[Maddie]

Mabel.

[Jenny Brady]

Oh, no. The puppy has awoken something.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Hey, come say hi.

[Jenny Brady]

Quick.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Special guest, eat the headphones.

[Maddie]

Come here and say hi, Mabel.

[Jess Bagula]

No. For anyone. I can see.

[Maddie]

If she destroys your headphones, then you have to get new ones, and everyone will stop yelling at you.

[Jess Bagula]

Okay?

[Jenny Brady]

Go, please. Yeah, now everyone's gonna start yelling at me because I'm wearing wired because I don't want to melt my brain.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Okay, well, I will happily take the enforced errors of this week, so. Yay me.

[Jess Bagula]

What are everyone's Thanksgiving plans? Des, I know you just had your friendsgiving. Are you doing anything else? What, is everyone traveling?

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Yeah, I. So I just had friendsgiving. Friendsgiving's like my holiday that I love and look forward to every year. And I'm actually just drove down to the desert for a few days to spend Thanksgiving here, so it'll be nice to be out here. It's just, like, weird not being here, like, when India Malls is happening, but it's just. It's gorgeous. Can't complain. So, Jenny.

[Jenny Brady]

Yeah, I mean, we're filming this before Thanksgiving on Monday, but I'm taking the bright line down, actually, to Boca to spend Thanksgiving with my mom, and then the next day, flying to Buffalo.

[Jess Bagula]

Oh.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

We'Ll get there later.

[Jenny Brady]

Yeah. So spending Thanksgiving with my mom down in South Florida. So what about you, Maddie?

[Maddie]

Bjorn and I are flying to Pittsburgh, and we're doing Thanksgiving with his family this year, and then we are driving to Buffalo, so we'll be all reunited soon. Jess.

[Jess Bagula]

Yes. Well, I will be in Buffalo flying up tomorrow, spending Thanksgiving with the fam, and then we have. I mean, we can talk about this later, but I'm doing a charity gal event. I think we've mentioned it before on Saturday, and luckily, everybody here on this podcast is going. So thank you guys for showing up for the pups, and that'll be really fun. So we'll actually all see each other by Saturday, which will be super fun. Yeah. So busy week coming up, but does anyone have any traditions that they kind of do every single year for Thanksgiving? I mean, I just always am kind of with my family, but I wouldn't say we have any crazy traditions.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

No, no, we don't either. I mean, everyone's like, nah, I think tennis players.

[Maddie]

It's hard to have a consistent holiday tradition because we're very rarely, like, actually at home for holidays. So I feel like. Like playing junior tennis. Thanksgiving was always during.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Yeah.

[Maddie]

Or Orange bowl, one of the two. So I, like, missed Thanksgiving five years in a row or something. Yeah.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

I feel like in the juniors, like, or, like, in high school or whenever I was home, everyone, you know, or, like, even in college, everyone comes back, and you're kind of like, oh, like, let's go play tennis for fun. And then we all, like, go our separate ways. It's just kind of like you reunite and see everyone you haven't seen that you grew up with at home, and then. Yeah, that's kind of like the only tradition I can think of, like, back when I. Before I started on tour. But it's. Yeah, like you said, it's pretty hard to have traditions if we're, you know, doing different things.

[Jess Bagula]

But, yeah, I would say my only traditions are usually, like, food. So we usually always make certain things every year. So what's everybody's top three favorites or not favorites? Like, I feel like cranberry sauce is always everyone's least, but I actually love cranberry sauce.

[Jenny Brady]

Yeah, it's good with the turkey.

[Jess Bagula]

Yeah, it's so good.

[Jenny Brady]

My mom's stuffing. My mom's stuffing is the best. Like, the best I've had Thanksgiving at multiple people's homes. And, like, it's been great and stuff, but I'm like, the stuffing. My mom. I don't know. Well, my mom does. I think she uses Martin's potato bread. So the. Her stuffing is phenomenal. It's the best.

[Jess Bagula]

Does she do sausage in it, or does she go, no, see, I like sausage.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Oh, I like sausage. No cranberries.

[Jess Bagula]

I love sausage and stuffing.

[Maddie]

No, I don't like stuffing.

[Jenny Brady]

Oh, you have to try them all.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Stuffing next time.

[Jess Bagula]

I'm on stuffing.

[Jenny Brady]

I think you'd like it, Maddie.

[Maddie]

I've always been like, a little bit of butter sides, just little bean casserole.

[Jess Bagula]

And Mac and cheese.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Mac and cheese. Cornbread I really like, too.

[Jenny Brady]

Oh, cornbread. I love, love cornbread.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Or like a Hawaiian sweet roll.

[Jenny Brady]

Oh, oh, we used to do the Pillsbury. I think it's Pillsbury. Flaky layers biscuits. Not biscuits, bread. The flaky layers bread stuffing that I mean. Turkey and sweet potato.

[Jess Bagula]

Oh, sweet potato casseroles with sweet potato.

[Jenny Brady]

Casserole with the marshmallows on top. Marshmallows. Oh, it.

[Maddie]

What?

[Jenny Brady]

No marshmallows? Yeah, no marshmallows for me.

[Jess Bagula]

I would do either.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

I would do either. But, like, I love. I love sweet potato or, like, brown Sugar.

[Jess Bagula]

I like with.

[Jenny Brady]

Yeah, with the pecans.

[Maddie]

I think I'm, like, the anti Thanksgiving person, because all of, like, the. The foods that everyone is like, no, that's Thanksgiving. I'm like, no, thanks. I'll pass.

[Jenny Brady]

Yeah. I used to love mashed potatoes. I'm, like, such a texture person. Like, when I was a kid, I think I told this to Maddie. I used to put mix my corn with my mashed potatoes to give it texture.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Oh, interesting.

[Jess Bagula]

I don't think I did it for texture, but I definitely feel like when I was a kid, I just mixed, like, everything on the plate.

[Maddie]

Yeah.

[Jenny Brady]

I mean, I still like to mix.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Everything, but is there, like, a favorite dessert that you guys are like, I need to have this at Thanksgiving?

[Jenny Brady]

Pumpkin pie. Pumpkin pie.

[Maddie]

Apple pie.

[Jess Bagula]

Oh, apple pie. And you put cheese on it, and you melt it on the apple pie. Hot take. Oh, good.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

What kind of cheese?

[Maddie]

Oh, wait, yeah, like a cheddar.

[Jess Bagula]

Cheddar or an American? I've done both. It's like, you know when people eat apples and cheese together, it's like, the same. It's, like, sweet and salty.

[Jenny Brady]

I don't know how I feel about the cheddar.

[Jess Bagula]

Try it.

[Jenny Brady]

I could see maybe like a. Like a. Like a goat scuda could be really good.

[Jess Bagula]

Honestly, I've done a lot of different cheeses.

[Jenny Brady]

Wow.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Never tried that. Okay.

[Jess Bagula]

Yeah. I don't know. My grandparents always did it, and they're Canadian, so I don't know if it's, like, a Canadian thing or not really. Sure. But who. Who do you think on this podcast would you want or trust to cook Thanksgiving dinner? I'd probably say does. And, Maddie, just because you guys cook a lot and does you actually have experience. I'm horrible with timing things out.

[Jenny Brady]

Yeah.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Yeah, I was.

[Maddie]

I would say does until she told us that she almost burned her.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Okay.

[Jenny Brady]

Stuffing.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Usually it was one dish, but yes. Okay. I will do the desserts and everything. That's great. But, like, I'll leave it to Maddie to do the main courses and everything else. I'll do the desserts. I will thrive in that department. Team effort.

[Jenny Brady]

Yeah, I. I would say dez. Well, Maddie. Maddie cooks really good desserts as well. I would say you guys could share it, and that way I feel like.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Maddie's really good with, like, the very intricate, like, I don't know, recipes or, like, I am not a griller. I've never. I don't do fire, so I feel like Maddie's really good in that.

[Jenny Brady]

You almost did do fire.

[Jess Bagula]

Could you imagine Dez like, frying.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

There is no. Well, I mean, yeah.

[Jenny Brady]

What, Maddie?

[Desiree Krafczyk]

No chance. No chance.

[Jenny Brady]

No. I'm afraid to, like. I don't ever fry food. I'm so afraid to, like, put, like, too much oil in a pan and, like, it, like, overflow and then cause a fire. I don't even know. I'm like, yeah.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Like, even with bacon, I'm like, it just got me.

[Maddie]

Like, it's dangerous.

[Jess Bagula]

Or you're, like, in a sports bra or, like, a crop. Like, you just roll out of bed and you. Anyone ever burned their stomach or, like, here.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

It gets up here.

[Maddie]

Oh, that's worse.

[Jenny Brady]

Hurts.

[Maddie]

I don't know what you guys are doing.

[Jess Bagula]

Yeah.

[Jenny Brady]

So I think Maddie is probably the person.

[Jess Bagula]

Maddie, the main person.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Yeah, main person. Maddie.

[Jess Bagula]

Des can help with desserts. Jenny's definitely the taster. I would be, like, there just, like, if you need anything.

[Jenny Brady]

Jess would be, like, making drinks.

[Maddie]

I was gonna say Jess's bartender.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Yeah. Espresso martinis all the way.

[Jess Bagula]

Honestly, sounds like a freaking awesome Thanksgiving.

[Maddie]

Sounds great.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Jenny and I will just be bickering per usual.

[Jenny Brady]

I make a really good sweet potato casserole. My friend, her mom shared this recipe with me. It's actually from Food Network. It's sweet potatoes. I'm not gonna go into the details, but thank God. Okay, I will, but.

[Maddie]

Oh, my God.

[Jenny Brady]

So you bake the sweet potatoes and two bananas. So like, three sweet potatoes, two bananas, and you just bake it, and then you peel everything. Peel it. And then you put it all together in a bowl and mash it, and then you add maple syrup, and you toast pecans, and then you top the. The casserole with the pecans.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

That sounds really good.

[Jenny Brady]

It's, like, healthy. It's really good.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

I don't think about, like, I don't think about health.

[Jenny Brady]

It's my favorite sweet potato casserole dish, and I don't like marshmallows, so.

[Maddie]

No, I love when people are like, oh, let's make, like, a healthy dessert or something. And I'm like, healthified. No, thank you. I like, you know, full gluten, full sugar, full olive, full fat. Like. Yeah, it's not. Give me an unconscious. What I'm eating. Dessert.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Yeah.

[Maddie]

Yeah.

[Jenny Brady]

Let's play a quick little game of this or that. Thanksgiving edition. Cozy sweaters or cozy blankets?

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Blankets.

[Jenny Brady]

Sweaters. Apple pie or pumpkin pie? Apple, apple, Pumpkin. Cash. Just the odd one. Traveling for Thanksgiving or hosting at home? Neither.

[Maddie]

Hosting at home.

[Jenny Brady]

Football or parade?

[Jess Bagula]

Football.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Football.

[Maddie]

Maddie, did you say football? Football, I guess. Yeah. You know, Put the football game on early.

[Jenny Brady]

Black Friday. Shopping or sleeping in?

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Oh, sleeping in.

[Maddie]

Sleeping. Black Friday is like an entire month now.

[Jess Bagula]

Now.

[Jenny Brady]

Yeah.

[Jess Bagula]

Yeah.

[Jenny Brady]

Can online crazy board games or movies? Board games.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Board games.

[Jess Bagula]

Board games.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Board games.

[Jess Bagula]

Or both.

[Jenny Brady]

Family drama or avoiding family drama?

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Oh, my God.

[Maddie]

Love what you say.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Love it.

[Maddie]

So funny.

[Jess Bagula]

I love.

[Jenny Brady]

Avoid.

[Maddie]

Yeah, I'm.

[Jenny Brady]

Avoid it.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

I don't.

[Jess Bagula]

You can't avoid it.

[Maddie]

You can't. You just gotta lean into it.

[Jess Bagula]

You just gotta be like. Yeah, really? Just poke at it so and so.

[Maddie]

Exactly. Like, you just kind of, like, drop little bombs all night to, like, see who takes them.

[Jess Bagula]

Exactly. I agree.

[Maddie]

Who cares?

[Jess Bagula]

I say you go with the drama.

[Jenny Brady]

Sitting at the kids table or sitting at the adults table? Kids table.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

For sure.

[Jess Bagula]

Adult.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Adult.

[Jenny Brady]

Hosting people are being hosted. Being hosted.

[Jess Bagula]

Being hosted. Yeah. Being hosted.

[Maddie]

Hosting.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Hosting.

[Jenny Brady]

Family photos or no photos? No photos.

[Jess Bagula]

No photos.

[Maddie]

No photos.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

I'm a big photo person, but maybe not family. Oh, so no photos.

[Jess Bagula]

Oh.

[Maddie]

Oh. Do you want to unpack that, Des? No, I'll save that for another session.

[Jenny Brady]

Maybe not on the pod. Yeah. Early dinner or late dinner?

[Jess Bagula]

Early.

[Jenny Brady]

Early. Yes. Pets in Thanksgiving. Yeah.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

You didn't finish it.

[Maddie]

Finish the question.

[Jenny Brady]

Oh, sorry. I was like, why is it worded like that? Pets in Thanksgiving outfits or kids in Thanksgiving outfits? Pets and Thanksgiving out pets.

[Jess Bagula]

Yeah.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Funny pets. Yeah, it's cute.

[Jenny Brady]

I mean, kids are cute too, but it's cuter. Your Thanksgiving table has five open seats. Which tennis players, past or present, do you want to have at your table? Oh, sorry, Maddie.

[Maddie]

She's like, do you not read? Do you not read it? I'm so confused.

[Jess Bagula]

Jenny is off on the script today.

[Maddie]

She's not really. I will say, when DEZ chooses the people, she puts the name after the segment instead of. Yeah, the segment. So you have to highlight it.

[Jenny Brady]

It's not highlighted. Desiree. When it's copied and pasted in the freaking chat, it's not highlighted.

[Jess Bagula]

But I. Oh, I'm not.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

I don't look at the chat. I only look at my notes.

[Jenny Brady]

I only look at the chat. I don't look at the notes.

[Jess Bagula]

Oh, see, I have my phone on the stand and I just read the.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

That makes sense now.

[Jess Bagula]

So it's.

[Jenny Brady]

That's why I read it, because Maddie is after the word.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Well, why don't you look at the actual notes where it says, and you.

[Maddie]

Two don't like family drama? Look at the actual collaboration.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

I just look at the collaboration.

[Maddie]

Actually, there is.

[Jenny Brady]

I did read the notes.

[Jess Bagula]

Yeah, but why don't you just look at it.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

And you, you don't have to. You just have it on your screen.

[Maddie]

Half split screen.

[Jenny Brady]

Okay. Maddie, are you doing this segment or am I?

[Maddie]

I also.

[Jess Bagula]

Did you eat?

[Maddie]

To note, I don't. I don't use my phone. I don't use my phone either. My phone is dead.

[Jenny Brady]

Thank you.

[Maddie]

I only use the chat and I had to get used to it as well cuz I'm like why is the name after the segment? That doesn't make a lot of sense.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

But I will do that next time.

[Commercial Narrator]

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[Sports Announcer]

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[Jess Bagula]

Look at this.

[Maddie]

It's on.

[Sports Announcer]

The money coverage begins at 7pm Eastern with Football's Best Party TNF tonight presented by Verizon. Not a Prime member. Not a problem. Simply sign up for a 30 day free trial. It's the Cowboys and Lions Thursday at the 7pm Eastern only on Prime Video. Restrictions apply. See Amazon.com amazonprime for details.

[Maddie]

Okay, so we have a Thanksgiving table. It's the four of us and we have five empty seats. Who are we choosing? Jenny, go first.

[Jenny Brady]

Marat, Saffin. Desiree, who are you choosing?

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Oh, no. Why? Just. Just because.

[Jenny Brady]

Oh, I mean, yeah, he's nice to look at.

[Jess Bagula]

Reference episode.

[Jenny Brady]

Yeah, like referencing the two episodes ago.

[Maddie]

Okay, Des, who are you choosing?

[Desiree Krafczyk]

I'm gonna. I'm gonna go with Foe because I mean, he'll always be entertained and he'll probably be late, so we'll have to tell him to come early. But that. Yeah, it could be entertaining.

[Jess Bagula]

I was actually just gonna like say Serena because I feel. But like Serena. Like now Serena because I feel like she's kind of like really funny right now and slightly like. Yeah, she'd be down for a good time. Yeah, I think it'd be very entertaining. So I go with Serena. Maddie.

[Maddie]

Okay, I guess I'll choose the last two. I'm gonna say to stick on theme. Super funny at dinner would be Emma Navarro. She's basically A good comedian.

[Jess Bagula]

Have a great time. So weird.

[Maddie]

She'd be so weird and so funny. And we love every second.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

In a good, weird way.

[Maddie]

Well, in the best way.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Yeah.

[Maddie]

That's why she's coming. And then I would say Laura Robson, because she'd probably bring, like, karaoke machine and we'd have a great time.

[Jenny Brady]

We could film Tik Toks.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Tik Toks for sure. Easily.

[Jess Bagula]

She should host it.

[Maddie]

Yes, Laura, she does host.

[Jess Bagula]

Yeah, she hosts some parties, like, every week. I'm like, wow, that looks incredible. Amazing. And she's got, like.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

The outfits are so good.

[Maddie]

Side note, talking about Laura hosting a party, she really wanted specific Christmas napkins that only shipped to the us so she shipped them to my house and then had me ship them to her in the uk. I was like, you realize these napkins are costing you, like, hundreds of dollars.

[Jess Bagula]

Wait, I saw her post that and.

[Maddie]

I was like, huh?

[Jess Bagula]

What was that? I thought you just sent her napkins.

[Jenny Brady]

As, like, a gift. Me too.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

I was like, wow.

[Maddie]

She sent them to my house and then I took them to UPS and sent them to her house in London. And I was like, this is. These are some expensive napkins. I hope someone takes it home and, like, frames it and hangs it on their wall.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

No, they're just like, travel near and far.

[Jess Bagula]

That's incredible.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Wow.

[Maddie]

They were a good napkin, though.

[Jess Bagula]

I did. I saw it. We won't. We don't have to say what they said, but they were really funny.

[Jenny Brady]

Yeah, they were.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Well, we won't be together for Thanksgiving, but we will all be in Buffalo together for Jessica's charity event. So, Jess, can you just explain to the listeners just about your charity and the event that's happening this weekend?

[Jess Bagula]

Yeah. So we're having our first ever charity gala to raise money for rescues and service dogs to get trained and cared for. So it's the first kind of, like, big event we've ever done. So we're kind of freaking out this week because we're like, oh, it's, like, actually happening. And I'm like, there's a girl helping me that has done these before. So my husband Taylor used to do some, like, fundraising events in Buffalo. So he has, like, a core group of, like, friends where they all did this as well, like, volunteer work, and so they have experience. But this one's, I think, maybe a little bit bigger, maybe nicer than the other ones that they did. So the girl. I'm like, I have friends flying from out of town. Like, this better be nice.

[Maddie]

Like, it's Just, like, freaking out. She's like, I know it's gonna be.

[Jess Bagula]

Great, but we're, like, kind of all panicking. It's also just a busy week with Thanksgiving, but it was kind of the only weekend that we could do it this year. But it's kind of a. It's a James Bond Casino Royale theme, so we're gonna make it kind of funny with the dogs involved, and we'll have some of the other non profits that have trained actual service dogs be there with the dogs, and we'll have rescues and stuff like that. So hopefully it turns into a really fun night and everyone can get dressed up. Jenny, you don't have a dress, but we'll figure it out.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

We'll dress you up.

[Jenny Brady]

I don't have a dress. I'm just not sure if it. We'll find out a few days.

[Jess Bagula]

Try it on before Thanksgiving. Or actually, maybe don't try it on after.

[Jenny Brady]

Yeah, well, we don't. I don't play. It's just me and my mom, so, like, we're not going crazy. That's true. Like, yeah, it's not.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Oh, your mom's coming.

[Jenny Brady]

You don't What?

[Desiree Krafczyk]

No, sorry.

[Jess Bagula]

Your mom.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Sorry, I was like, whoa. Okay, that's nice.

[Jenny Brady]

No, but she actually did want to go. Yeah.

[Jess Bagula]

So you guys are all going? There's a couple other tennis players going. Aaron Ratliff, Alexis coming or. No, Bruner, Asia can't come, which is kind of sucks. I was hoping her and Jamie.

[Maddie]

Yeah.

[Jess Bagula]

Maybe Danielle. We're not sure she's gonna make an appearance. I have to text and ask her, but, yeah, it should be a good, fun group. And, I mean, obviously I was born there and, like, from there. Taylor's from there, but everyone's, for some reason, very excited to come to Buffalo, New York. I think it has to do a little bit with the Wings and the Bills. Yeah, we're gonna go to a Sabers game Friday afternoon, I believe. Unfortunately, Josh plays Sunday.

[Jenny Brady]

Yeah.

[Jess Bagula]

So he definitely will not be in appearance. But, Jenny, what would you. What would you do if you saw Josh Allen? For those who don't know, Jenny has been a Josh Allen fan, though, like, the entire time. You've been obsessed with him.

[Jenny Brady]

Yeah, since. Since he's. Honestly, before I even really, like, became, like, a Bills fan, like, before I, like, got closer to you and then, like, started really, like, cheering for the Bills, I was just, like, obsessed with Josh Allen. But, yeah, I don't. I don't know what I would say. Yeah, I don't know if he's good.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

So if he was just like, you saw him walking, you wouldn't. You wouldn't be like, oh, my God, Josh Allen. Like, can I get a photo? You would just be like, no, there he is.

[Jenny Brady]

Yeah. I should be like, oh, wow, look, it's Josh Allen. You wouldn't want to mention him, Something goofy or give.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Or give him a hug, then never let go.

[Jenny Brady]

No.

[Jess Bagula]

I feel like he's full on. Like, you just, like, freeze.

[Jenny Brady]

Yeah, I probably wouldn't say anything.

[Jess Bagula]

It would be all talk. Like, yeah, sure. Like, hi.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

And then, yeah, be like, hey, run away.

[Jenny Brady]

Hi. Jennifer Brady.

[Jess Bagula]

Nice to meet you.

[Jenny Brady]

All bark. Nobody.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Obviously everyone knows about buffalo and their wings. And I know Jenny's been wanting to go to see or to go try out some wing spots. Is there, like, a specific.

[Jenny Brady]

Yeah, we're doing a wing tour.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Yeah. But, like, is there specific, like, order you want to go in? Because I know there's a few, like, top three places.

[Jenny Brady]

Bar bill. Bar bill. But I don't know, depending on timing and all that. But whatever Jess says. But she started yelling at me the other day because I was already scouting out places and was looking at reviews, and she was like, why are you doing that?

[Jess Bagula]

Yeah. I'm like, you just need to go. Because there's so many hole in the wall places that probably, like, don't have the best reviews for overall, like, whatever. But they have really good wings. Yeah. So I'm like, those are kind of, like, really good places, and they're all gonna be better than, like, what you usually have. So I threw out a couple names, and she, like, Googles these pictures, and she's like, these don't look like I'd like them. And I'm like, okay, we're just. No, we're not being super particular. You need to just try and then make your decision. I was like, you can't just start picking and choosing. Like, you've never even been. You have no idea. I was like, you just need to, like, go in with a clean slate, and if you hate them, then you hate them. But, like, you need to kind of, like, go through the list.

[Maddie]

Also, Queen Jenny is the queen of research on the front end and being like, no, no, hate it. I'm gonna hate it. Because they use. They garnish with one thing, and I hate garnishes like that.

[Jenny Brady]

Yeah. I hate cilantro.

[Maddie]

Yeah. Or like, I don't. Like, it's not super fried. Or this one looks too fried.

[Jess Bagula]

And I'm like, also, we're going with other people. So what if they like that? I'm like, we can't just. Like, it's not about you. Get rid of all the good places because you're like, ugh.

[Jenny Brady]

But I want to go to the. I want to go to the good places.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Then we'll go out there. We'll go.

[Jenny Brady]

I just said. No. I just said that they look a little saucy, and I don't love.

[Maddie]

See, here we go.

[Jenny Brady]

I like things.

[Maddie]

Wow.

[Jess Bagula]

But I feel like also, you can ask for, like, less sauce.

[Jenny Brady]

Yeah, no, I'll be easy.

[Jess Bagula]

We shall see.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

We'll do a vlog and just see if you can.

[Jess Bagula]

If.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Keep your word on that one.

[Jenny Brady]

Yeah, no, it'll be fun. It'll be great.

[Jess Bagula]

Oh, yeah.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

And then you got so fun, and.

[Jess Bagula]

You wanted to practice.

[Jenny Brady]

Oh, yeah, we're practicing.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Yes, we did.

[Jenny Brady]

On Saturday and Sunday.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Yeah.

[Jess Bagula]

I don't even think we asked Maddie.

[Maddie]

Because why would she want to practice?

[Jenny Brady]

Well, I just assumed that Maddie would.

[Maddie]

Not want to practice. Look at her. I'm gonna bring. I'm not gonna bring. I'm not checking a bag. So, like, I'm not gonna bring a singular racket to go hit for, like, an hour.

[Jenny Brady]

Yeah.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

That'S why we didn't ask.

[Jenny Brady]

Yeah, that's why we didn't ask.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Yeah. So we're gonna bring some rackets. I'm definitely gonna have to check a bag. The packing's not gonna be easy.

[Jenny Brady]

I don't think I'm gonna check a bag.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

I'm gonna attempt not to, but we'll see.

[Maddie]

It's three days. I don't understand how you think that you need to.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

But isn't it so cold there? Yeah, but, like, I'm hitting. Doing gym. Like, I need, like, a few outfits.

[Jenny Brady]

Yeah, like, four outfits.

[Maddie]

What are you. Are you bringing, like, a parka that you're gonna put in your suitcase?

[Desiree Krafczyk]

No, but, like, if I. If I'm gonna go do gym. If I'm gonna do gym, like, then I usually change after that. Then I switch into tennis, and then, like, I switch after that. So I need a few outfits, and we're hitting a couple days.

[Jess Bagula]

Hey, she's a stylish person.

[Jenny Brady]

On tour?

[Jess Bagula]

Yeah, on tour stuff. Gosh, what are we gonna do out of this group?

[Desiree Krafczyk]

I don't know about on tour, but.

[Jenny Brady]

Don'T take notes from me.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

I don't.

[Jess Bagula]

So a few other headlines. Davis cup thoughts.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Geez.

[Maddie]

Yeah. Forza.

[Jess Bagula]

The atmosphere looked absolutely crazy from the clips that I saw. I didn't really watch, but I just Saw clips.

[Jenny Brady]

Yeah.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

This is their third year. Yeah, third year they were back to back. It's amazing.

[Jess Bagula]

I think it was their third.

[Maddie]

Third in a row.

[Jenny Brady]

Wow.

[Jess Bagula]

Three feet.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Congrats.

[Jess Bagula]

And then the woman, two back to back, two years in a row. I mean, tennis in Italy is like popping wild. And did anyone see like the cute little story of Kabali and.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

What happened.

[Jess Bagula]

There they were, I guess, when they had a picture of Kaboli when He was like 9, they said, and Baratini was maybe 15 and he was saying like how it's his dream to win Davis cup or something and Baratini was kind of his mentor or something. And there was like this picture of them and he's really little and Mateo is really tall of them walking on the court. And then they just showed like them winning Davis cup together. It was really cute.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Oh, that's really cute.

[Jess Bagula]

Yeah, it was a cool, cool little story. What about Rune practicing after post Achilles? It's gotten a. It's been a hot topic.

[Jenny Brady]

Yeah. Actually I woke up this morning and I went on the gram and I saw Dasha was talking about it and actually I. Yes, she was talking about it and I agree with her after someone. What'd she say through? She was just kind of like. Like, it's great for him basically that he's practicing and stuff, but like also it's like there's this point of like, almost like rehab, like exhaustion and like fatigue, like where you just like kind of hit a wall and it's really hard. Like once, you know, once you start like practicing again, like after surgery, it's. It's like it doesn't all go like uphill and it's like, I don't know, just kind of like he's doing a lot, like very soon. What? He had surgery, like a month, A couple weeks.

[Jess Bagula]

The month?

[Jenny Brady]

Yeah, like five weeks ago or something. Six weeks ago. And he's like freaking. I don't know.

[Jess Bagula]

I mean, that's a long term. These are long. Because she had a lot of long term injuries and that's what she was referencing. Like, he's going to. It's going to be like almost a year.

[Jenny Brady]

Yeah. So is it going to play like in Australia? So it's.

[Jess Bagula]

Yeah. Where he's trying to catch up.

[Jenny Brady]

So I don't know. I mean, everybody's different. Like, maybe he like needs to do that to like feel, you know, like he's doing some. But it's also like if it's your first like major injury, you're still like, so Motivated and like, it's. But if you've been out and like.

[Jess Bagula]

But I also, like, I was watching him. I'm just like, don't hurt something else. It's like, that's what I felt like I was like, oh, my gosh. Like, it's a little stup soon. I mean, obviously, I'm not a doctor, whatever, but, like, just maybe just chill, hopefully.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Like, try not to compensate. Like, because you could compensate on one leg or like, your arm, like, something. So you hope that that won't happen as well when he's trying to, like, be in rehab. But I'm sure he. I mean, maybe it's on him, but, like, he wants to be out there practicing. But I think us tennis players, I can speak for myself. I need to know, like, when to not over push and just be like, hey, like, it's okay. Like, you need to just hit for 30 minutes. Hit for 30 minutes. Even though I can hit more or something like that. But, yeah, I think. I'm sure he's got a good team around him. But yeah, it's.

[Jess Bagula]

That's kind of what scares me. When I saw the videos, I'm just like, oh.

[Maddie]

I think the other thing is when you're trying to come back from, like, a major injury surgery, all that, it's like, you can only do so much tennis stuff that it's like, okay, how many weeks can you sit in a chair and swing a racket before you lose your mind? And, yeah, you want to break all of your rackets.

[Jenny Brady]

Yeah, yeah. No, I know. And like someone who's been out for two years, like, it's like, I've done the whole, okay, 15 minute hit, 30 minute hit, 45 minute hit. Okay, now with movement, 45. Like, the whole progression thing. And it's so exhausting. It's so draining. And it's like, you can't just, like, not pick up a racket for, you know, whatever, a year, and then expect to go and, you know, practice for two hours at 8 intensity and expect to, like, wake up the next day and feel nothing and do it all over again. It's like, you have to, like, do, like, those small progressions, and they are. So it's more draining mentally than it is physically. And also, I know Dasha spoke on this, too. It's like, you know, we have to pay, like, us tennis players, like, being an individual sport, like, we have to pay for our coach, pay for our physio, pay for our strength and conditioning. So, like, it adds up, too. And then when you're out, you know, for a year or however long you're out. Like, you're not making, you know, you're not earning any prize money. So it's like then also.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

But you're investing in yourself.

[Jenny Brady]

Like, yes, of course. No, no, no. But I'm saying it just adds up and it becomes really expensive. Yeah. Like, where it's like, yeah, like wake up at 2am like, oh, my God, like, am I ever going to play tennis again? Am I wasting my money? Like, blah, blah, blah. You know, it's just like kind of.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Like you just have doubts.

[Jenny Brady]

Yeah. So it's, it's not easy like having, you know, like a really big injury like that. So I hope it goes well for him. But like to see him like already, like, literally, like full on training, practicing, like, I know. I was like sitting on a docket.

[Maddie]

Hurt again.

[Jenny Brady]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

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[Jenny Brady]

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[Maddie]

Limu Emu.

[Commercial Narrator]

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[Jess Bagula]

Limu is that guy with the binoculars watching us. Cut the camera.

[Commercial Narrator]

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[Jess Bagula]

Well, I wanted to touch on one more quick topic because it kind of was, it was a hot topic, I feel like, in the sports world. But Connor Bedard, which is, he's a forward for the Blackhawks. He's only like 20 years old. Total superstar. For those of you that don't follow hockey, Des probably knows who it is, but there was a video of him basically denying someone an autograph. But the guy was trying. He was older and he was obviously, like selling these autographs. And I just thought it was really relatable because we definitely had a lot of those people. And it kind of went viral and A lot of people were like, oh, he's kind of. Kind of like being a douche. And we're like, I mean, I saw it, and I was like, okay, wait a second. Like, let's just shed some light on the situation. Because he was, like, walking back from dinner just with, like, a couple people or something like that, like, casually walking, and the guy was, like, really bugging him. So what are your guys? I mean, I know what I think, but what are your guys, thoughts on people, especially a lot older people that bug the crap out of you for autographs when you know that you're just. They're just gonna sell them?

[Maddie]

I usually ask because it's like, it's obviously at that point, it's usually. Especially at, like, specific tournaments, it's the same three people over and over and over again. And they'll literally whip out a whole book, and it's like, 15 pictures of you. And a lot of times I'll just be like, are you selling these? And I play really dumb. And they're like, no, no, of course not. Like, I keep them. And I was like, so you just have, like, a shrine of all of us all over your house like wallpaper? How do you have so many pictures of all of us if you don't sell them? He's like, no, I would never sell them. And I was like, oh, well, if you. If you do sell them, I feel like since it's my face, like, I kind of want to get paid for it.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Commission.

[Maddie]

The fun.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

The best part is when you get.

[Maddie]

When you take.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

They're like, can we take a photo of you? And with you, you take the photo, the next day they come back, it's printed, and they're like, can you sign it? And I'm like, whoa. But I feel like there's a lot. Yeah. And I'm like, I just took this or like, it. If they don't see me, they bring it back the next year. But there have been fans at specific tournaments. I'm not going to say where, but that they are just hovering outside the hotel. And it's just like, too. You can't even walk out of the hotel. Like, there's a lot of players, even few of us. Like, we stay at different hotels because we're not getting bombarded. It's just, like, too much. And you guys are so. Especially you guys. You guys are so used to being bombarded all the time. And I don't think people understand that when people get aggressive or, like, persistent, it's like, too much. And it just wants you to, like, step off and just, like, not do anything. So that's my opinion. I. I see it from his side of things. I mean, it's. Yeah, it is. It's tough.

[Maddie]

But I think when it's, like, the. For me, it's always. I'm honestly always typically fine with it unless and until my, like, security and privacy starts getting taken advantage of a little bit. Of course, like, when you're going to get in the car and they are literally. You can't even turn around because they're on top of you and you have stuff getting shoved in your face, or, like, there's places sometimes where people will literally throw things at you to sign them. Or, like, one time in a hotel, a woman followed me to my room.

[Jess Bagula]

Yeah.

[Maddie]

And I turned around and was like, what the hell? And she was like, yeah, can you sign this? And I was like, okay. But, like, do you realize how weird this is? Like, that was. It's. It's kind. For me, it's more when it gets, like, a step too far, and it's like they kind of lose. I think sometimes of it. Yeah. It's like they lose kind of the sight of you're still a person that, like, your boundaries. Yeah. Like, this would be weird if this happened to you, but I think sometimes it's like when fans see someone and it's like, they just are like, oh, I'm gonna go take a picture, or whatever I have to do.

[Jess Bagula]

Yeah, it's tough. I am the same. I feel like I am always down to sign. I would say sometimes I will stop signing for those people if they come back. And, like, I'll do, like, two or three or maybe even just two, and I'll tell them, I'm like, hey, I'm only gonna sign one because I see that they have, like, 20 pictures. I'm like, sorry, I'm not gonna sit here and just sign, like, 20 pictures for you. Especially when there's, like, kids and other people.

[Jenny Brady]

Yeah.

[Jess Bagula]

I would much rather go sign for kids, and then, yeah, I'll sign one for you. But then sometimes you see them, they come back around and they try to get you to sign another one or they try to. They'll give it to another guy. Because there's usually, like, a group of them all trying to get autographs and to sell them, and they'll give it to another guy in hopes that, like, I don't see that guy. And then he comes up to me, and I'll literally be like, you. You're really Trying to get me to sign this, huh? And, like, I do the same thing. I kind of mess with them a little bit because they try to be sneaky and, like, smart, and I'm like this. You guys stand out. Like, I know who you are. And then it's like the same guys every single day, morning and night. I've been followed before. I think, from a female perspective, especially the boundaries thing gets really weird because they tend to always be older men. And it's just a little. It's just a little creepy. Like, it's just. It's a little too much. And I. I think when the boundaries thing gets crossed, like in his instance, like, he's just trying to walk to dinner. Who knows? Maybe he just signed, like, 20 of them for this guy and he did. Didn't feel like signing another one because this guy's harassing him. I feel like it's. It's a boundaries thing for me. Like, it. Yeah. Like, when it's. They forget that you're human and that. Yeah. Following you to. In the elevator into your hotel room is too much. Totally crossing a line. And then when that happens, it kind of ruins your want to do it again.

[Jenny Brady]

Yeah.

[Jess Bagula]

Yeah. Because then you do one good. You do one nice thing for them and you sign it once. And then all of a sudden, now they think they can get you to sign whatever they want whenever they want. So it's just. I feel like there's a lot more that went into it than him just telling that guy no.

[Jenny Brady]

Yeah, I agree.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

And also, there's only video of that being seen, so people don't know the real maybe reason of it.

[Jess Bagula]

He was getting something. I mean, there was, like, mixed responses, but I thought it was. It was a pretty. It kind of went viral on, like, barstool and stuff. Stuff. So I know it happens. Happens to us a lot. Maddie, you want to give an update on.

[Jenny Brady]

Have you watched.

[Maddie]

I have not watched the new season of Secret Lives of Mormon Wives. I want to be able to focus. And Bjorn asks a lot of questions when I'm watching trash tv. And I like to be locked in, so I need some time. I'm downloading from Flight so I can watch in peace. I have been obsessively watching the Real Housewives of Salt Lake. And if you don't watch a Real Housewives franchise yet, you have to watch this one because it is absolute cinema. Every single week. Bjorn always comes in and is like, why are they always yelling at each other? And I was like, they're just talking passionately you don't get it, but it is easily my favorite franchise. It is so funny. All of the comments are so unhinged. Sometimes happens so fast. Like, you don't even. You have to, like. You're like, wait, what did she just say? Oh, my God, that's so funny. And they're. They're all very shady. And every time I see. Yeah, every time I see on TikTok Tock now where there's, like, this thing where Lisa is. People keep like, saying, like, oh, she's doing something illegal or whatever. And everyone's like, she's gonna sue you. Because she keeps going into, like, in the comments of videos and being like, you can't say this. I'm gonna sue you, and whatever.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

So good.

[Maddie]

You guys have to watch it.

[Jess Bagula]

Wait, so they're in the same. So secret lives in Real High. It's the same city? No. Salt Lake. Aren't they all in, like.

[Maddie]

Mormon wives are in Pro. Provo.

[Jenny Brady]

Provo.

[Maddie]

Provo.

[Jenny Brady]

Yeah.

[Jess Bagula]

But.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

But wasn't there some link? Yes.

[Maddie]

Oh, Utah, man.

[Jess Bagula]

What's going on in Utah? Lots happening.

[Maddie]

Not in Utah.

[Jenny Brady]

Actually, last. Last week, I was texting Maddie because I turned on the TV and Real Housewives of Salt Lake was on tv. And I was just sitting here watching, and I was like, okay, Body says, like, I need to watch this, so let me watch. I'm sitting here and then I just text her and I go. And I was like, wait, this is crazy. Like, these people are like, oh, my gosh. Like, what is happening? Like, literally, I'm watching and so, so much stuff is unfolding and there's so much drama. But I was like, I could only do, like, one episode. I was like, I was pooped after it.

[Jess Bagula]

Yeah, I get exhausted.

[Jenny Brady]

I can't, like, binge it. I can't. And. And. And I think it was at like, 6 o', clock. And then there was an episode at 7, and then a new episode at 8, and I was like, okay, I'm gonna watch. And then after that episode at 6, I was like, oh. Like, I can't do this. So I didn't even, like, I had it on, but I wasn't even watching. So I couldn't even, like, stay watching it. But I mean, I will say. Oh.

[Maddie]

I was gonna say if you can watch like, two episodes in a row, if you go back a few seasons, one of the castmates was arrested and she's in legit, like, literal prison now for first. Wow. I think it was. I think she. She was like, defrauding Specifically, like, elderly people.

[Jenny Brady]

Oh, my gosh.

[Maddie]

Yes. And. But it's all, like, it all unfolded on camera, guys.

[Jenny Brady]

Wow.

[Maddie]

It happened so that we could watch it. And that was the greatest gift. Maddie's. But also loving this. It was. This is my sports. Like, this is football for me.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Is this the Super Bowl? The finale is the Super Bowl.

[Jenny Brady]

Tell.

[Maddie]

It is the Super Bowl. It's the wall. The watch what happens. Lives afterwards are also like. It's like the post game recap shows and everything. Phenomenal. But the funniest thing about the woman who was arrested from the cast is that she basically only got arrested because of the show. Because she was like. Everyone was like, how does she have all of this money? It doesn't make any sense. Like, how do her and her husband afford this lifestyle? And people started sending in, like, tips to the FBI and everything. And then it like, all unfolded on the show. Like, you can't ask for better tv.

[Jess Bagula]

No. I need to start watching, I guess.

[Jenny Brady]

Secret Lives and Mormon Wives. Me and dez, we watched that.

[Jess Bagula]

So, yeah, I even started watching. That was literally just because you guys did so good.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Yeah. And obviously we won't give away any spoilers. Yeah.

[Jenny Brady]

Yeah.

[Jess Bagula]

Dance with Finality coming up is sadly.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Gonna be over this Tuesday. I am so sad. But Whitney. Yeah. For those. Spoiler alert.

[Maddie]

Well, she.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

You already know. But yeah, Whitney was. I guess there's conspiracy theories that she was. She knew that she was gonna be off the show. But I mean, she's a great dancer, so, yeah, she was my pick.

[Jess Bagula]

But who's in the finale?

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Alex Earl. Oh, this will test me. Jordan Childs, Dylan Efron, Robert and Robert Irwin.

[Maddie]

Yeah.

[Jess Bagula]

I just think he's adorable. I hope.

[Jenny Brady]

Yeah.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

I don't really like light. Yeah. So I'm excited, but sad. It's gonna be over. Yeah.

[Jess Bagula]

Landman just came out. I want to download that and watch that.

[Jenny Brady]

Yes.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

I haven't watched any of that.

[Jess Bagula]

Gotta get on that. Maybe I'll. Oh, maybe I'll save that, though, for.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Like, isn't it like a prequel?

[Maddie]

But that's.

[Jenny Brady]

Yeah.

[Maddie]

Whoa. You just got really loud. Sorry.

[Jess Bagula]

Yeah, I don't know what's going on.

[Maddie]

I feel like a lot of the shows that everyone watches are because I tell everyone that they need to watch shows, and I'm starting to wonder if I have a problem. I was like, landman. Everyone watch it. Secret Lives. Everyone watching Real Housewives. Everyone watch it.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

All right. We are going to move on and play another game called who Am I? I'm gonna give a Few clues about a specific player could be past or present, while the other three and also you as a listener will try and guess who it is.

[Jess Bagula]

So mine from last week. My three clues. It was actually Anna Blinkova.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

So who got it right?

[Jess Bagula]

You guys guessed that right? I'm Jenny, and Des got it, like, pretty quickly. Maddie said she had it in her head, but then she didn't think one of them matched up. But it. That definitely was kind of a little bit of a hard one. So I'm excited to see. You know, obviously, we're filming this before, but if anyone comments, it was a pretty. It was a tough one, but go ahead. Does with your. With your clues.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Okay, now I'm a little nervous. Mine's gonna be tough. Okay, clue number one. I kind of did like the chat GBT shout out to them. They're great.

[Jess Bagula]

Very creative.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Okay, first clue. I've climbed.

[Maddie]

Chat's not actually a person, Gemini.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Yeah, I know. Okay, first clue. I've climbed steadily through the ITF ranks, turning heads with consistency and determination. This isn't a good clue. Okay, next one. Wimbledon isn't just a dream for me. It's just. I'm not gonna give you an easy one to start off with a dream.

[Maddie]

For a tennis player.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Okay, both of these clues, guys, I'm not done yet.

[Maddie]

Hang on.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

First second clue. Wimbledon. Wimbledon isn't just a dream for me. It's my home turf. Last clue. I'm a rising star from Britain whose game is built on grit and fearless hitting.

[Jess Bagula]

I could just guess, knowing you, who it is, but.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Oh, I'll just. Just text me. Text me your answers.

[Jenny Brady]

Okay, well, comments, your answers, and in our YouTube page or on Instagram, post maybe. I don't know. To see if maybe you got it right. And then we'll reveal the answer next week. Okay, let's move on to some fan questions. First question from JMac Charles 12. Hi. Dez, Jenny, Jess, and Maddie. This question may be most suited for DEZ as the double specialist in the group, but I was curious about teaming up with someone who is considered a close friend or even a best friend. And what are the potential pros and cons are of that? Des, do you want to take it away since you're the double specialist?

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Yes, I think it can be a great idea, but it can definitely also be a bad idea. I think the pros is just, like, it's really special, I'm sure. Like to play with your best friend to be on tour playing at a high level and competing together. That's a Great pro. There are some cons I think it would be if a match went south. Like, how do you guys navigate that? Does it get conflicted with your relationships? Can you put like your, say, your off court stuff aside and be able to play, play the match and be businesslike and then move on from that? I just think, I just think it just depends. Yeah, it is, it is. It's tough because you can also, like, for example, a few of us who are really close, we room together, we do a lot of things together. We see each other on the practice courts, we see each other off the court. Like, it's just a lot. So you just have to manage, like your own space and just be able to, I don't know, talk to your friend and be open about it. But there's pros and cons.

[Jenny Brady]

So I would recommend not rooming with your friend if you're playing doubles together, because then the way they breathe is just gonna bother you. Or maybe that's just a me thing. Maybe the way it's just. Maybe it's just bothering you. I think. Don't mix business with.

[Jess Bagula]

Pleasure.

[Jenny Brady]

Pleasure, but I don't know if that's pleasure.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

I feel like if you are really good with just like communicating with them, like, yeah, maybe there are times like, hey, we're playing together for, for a few weeks. Like, for example, Devil's Players only get five nights or four, so a lot of us will at least me, like, with my close friends, I will room with someone so we can combine our nights, which is eight nights or 10 nights, and you'll just, I guess for hotel. For hotel. Per diem. Correct. And sometimes you're like, all right, well, I want, I don't want to pay for hotel. I'll just suffer through. But then there's weeks where you can be like, hey, I'm just gonna take a week off. Like, let's just have some space. It just. I think you just need to communicate that, like, anything.

[Jess Bagula]

But.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Yeah, good question, good answer.

[Jess Bagula]

I agree.

[Jenny Brady]

Next question from qt007. What is one of your favorite matches that you played well but lost? Jess?

[Jess Bagula]

I. I feel like I've had so many of them. Honestly. A lot of my recent matches with arena have been really good matches. Like, levels just super high and.

[Commercial Narrator]

You.

[Jess Bagula]

Lose, but you feel like you don't feel like that bad afterwards because you're like, wow, that was a really high level match. Like, I had chances, whatever, but you feel like you put your best self out there. So I would say just off of, like, brief Memory. Honestly, like most of my matches with arena over the last two years. Yeah, I always come off the court feeling like that. Yeah.

[Maddie]

Maddie, my match against Jasmine at Wimbledon in was like very fun until it wasn't. So maybe that one, I guess.

[Jess Bagula]

That was a really good match though. I remember watching before you got here.

[Maddie]

It was unbelievable atmosphere. The roof was closed, so it was, you know, it even was like louder and everything. Super fun. But. Yeah. And then I walked off in tears, so that part wasn't super fun. But up until then, great time.

[Jenny Brady]

Yeah. My match at US Open. 2020. 2020 US Open against Naomi was a really, really high level batch that I lost. But I think it was probably like one of the best matches. It, like I saw. I can't remember, like I saw something. It was like best match of the year. Granted, there were only like six tournaments that year. So. Anyways, Des.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Yeah, I'm kind of like, Jess, I don't have a specific match that I'm like, oh, like I think there's a handful. But I, like I said, like high level matches and it maybe didn't go my way and I just feel like I can't be really, really upset about it. And like you said, you can't just go off the court and be like so pissed off about it because you've done such good things on in the match. So. Yeah, I can't. There's not a specific match.

[Jess Bagula]

There's.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

There's a few.

[Jenny Brady]

Yeah. Okay. Well, thanks everyone for your fan questions this week. Please leave us a rating and review. It helps people find out about the podcast. And don't forget to watch us on the the players box YouTube page. And if you want to ask us a question, please DM us on Instagram at the Players Box pod or email [e-mail] thank you. And this is the end. Wow.

[Jess Bagula]

New twist.

[Commercial Narrator]

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[Jess Bagula]

Yeah.

[Commercial Narrator]

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[Jess Bagula]

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