The Player’s Box – Episode 21

Brisbane Recap, United Cup & Australian Survivor
January 13, 2026
Hosted by Madison Keys, Jessica Pegula, Jennifer Brady, and Desirae Krawczyk

Episode Overview

This episode takes listeners behind the scenes as the hosts share recent tennis adventures in Australia, give candid takes on preseason form, recap headline-making tennis moments, and put their friendship to the test with a spirited “Australian Survivor” game. There are plenty of mishaps, pop culture asides, and audience questions to round out a lively, laughter-filled show that brings out the personalities of four of the WTA tour's most prominent players.

Unforced Errors & Winners of the Week (00:45–08:10)

• Desirae Krawczyk kicks off the "Unforced Error or Winner of the Week," inviting the group to spill recent personal and competitive highs or lows.

• Jenny Brady: Declares a small victory—upgrading her podcast setup with a phone stand gifted by Maddie.
  “Hopefully, I'll be more focused now since I have my phone stand. Thank you, Maddie.” (01:32)

• Madison Keys: Shares an embarrassing and painful court moment—a dramatic fall in a tiebreak and a broken toenail.
  “That was the most ungraceful thing I think I've ever done in my entire life. But also, that hurt so badly.” (02:49)

• Jessica Pegula: Details a catastrophic water spill in her match prep bag, wristbands “soaking wet, full of electrolytes,” and a blunder that foreshadowed a rough day on court.
  “Everything in my bag was completely covered and soaked, and then I got killed.” (03:22)

• Desirae Krawczyk: Chronicles losing her luggage for three days, but thanks to her fellow hosts, gets her bags hand-delivered. Also recounts helping fellow pro Francis Tiafoe reclaim his bag.
  “I guess there was like a weight restriction, but I was Francis's hero. You're welcome.” (05:25)

• Collective Judgement: Ultimately, they jokingly decide Des is the week’s “winner” for scoring $1300 in compensation from United and going shopping on the airline’s dime.
  “United already sent me my $1300. I was winning. This is great.” (07:48)

Tour Talk: Brisbane Recap (09:19–16:45)

• Getting Back to Competition: The group discusses the abrupt transition back to match play after the holidays.

  • Maddie: “You can never actually simulate a match… the stress, just like all of it, it's just so different.” (10:51)
  • Jess: “You always want to get through the really tough matches to test your nerve… you just can’t replicate it.” (12:25)
  • Des: Compares the season start to the first day back at school: “There's people you missed and people you were like, oh, God, you again.” (09:44)

• Physical Toll: Stories of soreness, challenging matches, and hot Australian weather.

• Preseason Fitness Watch:

  • Jenny references Andy Roddick’s podcast and asks if anyone looked particularly “ready.”
  • Maddie: “I mean, Marta always looks super fit. But watching her play yesterday, I was like, whoa.” (15:06)
  • Clara Tauson also gets noted as looking especially fit.

United Cup Highlights (16:53–20:01)

• Late-night Spectator: Jess and Des stayed up to watch a dramatic US vs. Poland mixed doubles.

  • Jess: “Should have gone to third set tiebreak… that's mixed though, especially with the no ad.” (17:03)

• Praise for Mixed Doubles Format:

  • Jess observes: “It’s the perfect blend of doubles with the men and the women… so entertaining.” (18:57)

• Heroics & Comebacks:

  • Noting Belinda Bencic’s nine-point streak after a racket switch, and Stan Wawrinka’s dual role playing and coaching in hot conditions.

• Celebrity Sightings:

  • Roger Federer is doing $20K meet-and-greets at the Australian Open—shocks all present.
  • Jess: “Would you pay anybody 20 grand?” (20:23)
  • Maddie and Des swap “fangirl” Federer stories from their early careers.

Viral Tennis Moments & Hot Takes (23:31–32:29)

• Nairobi Wild Card Fiasco:

  • The hosts dissect a viral video of a Kenyan ITF event where a “wild card” entrant clearly did not know how to play, prompting suspicions of “pay for play.”
  • Jess: “She could not play tennis, looked like she had never picked up a racket in her life.” (24:18)

• Sangha vs. Mouratoglou Twitter ‘Beef’:

  • Patrick Mouratoglou claims Jo-Wilfried Tsonga only had one good year; Tsonga fires back.
  • Maddie: “You can’t call out someone and say you had one good year when you are a coach and you never even played.” (32:13)
  • The group lists Tsonga's career highlights as proof.

Australian Survivor: Tennis Tour Edition (32:47–46:59)

Hosts test each other's “survival skills”—both on court and in the wild Australian outback.

• Heat Survival:

  • Consensus: Desirae “melts” first.
  • Des: “The west coast girly, not in it.” (33:34)
  • Madison and Jess, “the Floridians,” claim a better shot.

• Ice Towel Philosophy:

  • Jenny refuses ice towels: “I don't want my opponents to think I'm weak.” (37:19)
  • Des: “It's not weak. It's being proactive.”

• Wildlife Scenarios:

  • Snake in your gym bag? Des screams, Jess is chill, Maddie “sets her bag on fire.”
  • Kangaroo on the court? More worried than with a snake.
  • Spider in your shoe? Maddie: “I'm like an outsidey kind of person. Not an outdoorsy kind of person.” (41:21)

• Ultimate Survivor:

  • Jenny is voted most likely to survive Naked & Afraid and prolonged wilderness deprivation.

• Biggest Weaknesses:

  • Most agree—hunger takes them out before heat or lack of coffee.
  • Maddie: “The blackout in Madrid… we missed dinner, we missed lunch, and I had to play a match… I think I'm dying.” (45:38)

• Hazards of the Job:

  • Des is predicted to eat poisonous berries first: “She’d be that one person that eats the berries off the bush and then dies.” (46:35)

Fan Q&A (49:22–59:57)

• If your racket could talk...

  • Jess: “Do you ever hit spin? I could teach you how to hit some spin maybe.” (50:06)
  • Maddie: “Will you please switch me out? You've been using this racket for, like, ten days.” (50:17)
  • Des: “Let's try and get, like, three balls on the court today in a row.” (50:25)

• ‘Can’t believe I got to do this’ player moments:

  • Maddie: “I'm from a very small area in the Midwest… the fact that I'm in Australia for, like, the 15th year is really cool.” (51:12)
  • Jess and Des agree—the global travel and diverse venues continually offer “pinch me” moments.

• Pickleball Opinions:

  • Maddie: “They're stealing our courts. The sound is terrible.” (54:21)
  • Des supports her friend’s professional pickleball career but personally is “not a big pickleball fan.”

• On fangirling for other players:

  • Jenny’s “obsession” with Marat Safin started as a podcast in-joke; admits her true social media fangirl energy is for NFL’s Josh Allen.

• Blinkova Shoutout:

  • Jess is a huge Anna Blinkova fan for her relentless positivity: “She always competes, the exact same energy every match… she doesn’t get enough credit.” (56:09)

Game: Who’d Be the Best ‘Traitor’ (in the TV show "Traitors")? (57:54–60:22)

• Audience thinks Jess Pegula would be the best traitor (44% of votes).
  • Jess: “I'd be a great traitor, liar, schemer, manipulator.” (58:39)
  • Maddie: “Maybe my face would give me away.” (59:17)
  • General consensus: Jess would “manipulate everybody,” Maddie’s reactions would give her away, and Jenny and Des would be too earnest or too nervous.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “There's people you, like, missed and there's people you were like, oh, God, you again…” — Des (09:44)
• “The soreness, the stress… it's just so different.” — Maddie (10:51)
• “I don't want my opponents to think I'm weak.” — Jenny on ice towels (37:19)
• “They're stealing our courts. The sound is terrible.” — Maddie on pickleball (54:21)
• “She could not play tennis, looked like she had never picked up a racket in her life.” — Jess on the Nairobi wild card (24:18)
• “You’d be that one person that eats the berries off the bush and then dies.” — Jess to Des (46:35)
• “The blackout in Madrid… I think I'm dying.” — Maddie (45:38)

Episode Flow

The episode deftly balances behind-the-scenes tour stories, topical tennis news, and plenty of laughter and self-deprecating banter. Each host brings stories from their own matches, travel woes, and friendship dynamics, highlighting the realities and oddities of life on the WTA circuit.

Useful Timestamps

• Unforced Errors & Weekly Winners: 00:45–08:10
• Brisbane Recap: 09:19–16:45
• United Cup Discussion: 16:53–20:01
• Federer Meet-and-Greet & Fandom: 20:03–23:06
• Hot Takes: Nairobi Wild Card & Twitter Beef: 23:31–32:29
• Australian Outback Survival Game: 32:47–46:59
• Fan Q&A: 49:22–59:57
• Traitors Game: 57:54–end