22 | Australian Open, One Point Slam & Tennis Headlines

Summary

The Player’s Box – Episode 22 Summary

Episode Title: Australian Open, One Point Slam & Tennis Headlines
Date: January 20, 2026
Hosts: Madison Keys, Jessica Pegula, Jennifer Brady, Desirae Krawczyk

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Episode Overview

This episode of The Player’s Box is a lively, behind-the-scenes look at the 2026 Australian Open. The hosts—professional tennis players Madison Keys, Jessica Pegula, Jennifer Brady, and Desirae Krawczyk—offer candid stories from the tour, react to fresh tennis headlines, and share their takes on wild new formats like the “One Point Slam.” They mix practical talk (scheduling, kits, health updates) with plenty of laughs, quirky anecdotes, food tips, and debates over tennis (and rock-paper-scissors) traditions.

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Unforced Errors & Winners of the Week (01:11–07:49)

• Jenny Brady (01:40): Left her credit card at a restaurant while focusing on her “mom’s anxiety tips.”

  "I was literally about to get on i4 and I was like, no, I'm not coming back. Like, there's no way." (02:06)

• Jessica Pegula (02:56): Counts a trip to see MJ the Musical as her “winner”—noting the awkward fun of her coach repeatedly telling random people about it.

  "He'll just, like, see random people and be like, yeah, we're hitting up MJ Friday. And people are like, what are you talking about?" (03:13)

• Desirae Krawczyk (04:35): Laundry mishap while traveling led to washing her whites in the bathtub by hand before a match.

  "My whites were ruined... So, I put my whites in the bathtub... just did my little whites cleaning." (04:35)

• Madison Keys (05:25): Defeated anti-doping nerves and a tight airport connection to make her flight from Adelaide to Melbourne; admits everyone teases her about her NFL ignorance.

  • Bonus: Detailed her indulgent McDonald's airport food order, sparking debate about fries in McFlurries.

    "I went a McCrispy, and I got nuggets, and I got a 6ft Snuggits one, a large fry, and an Oreo Blizzard. And then I obviously dip the fries in the McFlurry." (07:11)

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Tournament Updates & Partnerships (07:49–10:08)

• Desirae’s Adelaide run: Finished doubles runner-up with Lyudmila Kichenok—first time pairing.

  "Making finals and not playing together before is pretty good." (08:58)

  • Notes how contrasting serve styles helped their doubles dynamic.

• Jess skips Adelaide:

  • Chose to stay in Melbourne after a tough preseason.

  "Playing four matches, four days in a row in Brisbane... was just a lot." (10:05)

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The “One Point Slam” Phenomenon (11:17–16:57)

• Full breakdown and reactions to the new mini-tournament:

  • Format: 128 draw, each match is one point only. Pros get one serve, amateurs two; serve/return determined by rock-paper-scissors ("scissors, paper, rock" in Australia).

    “No one wanted to serve, everyone... People were getting so tight.” – Madison (12:57)

    • Notable gaffes (missed serves from big names like Francis Tiafoe, Jannik Sinner, Coco Gauff).

  • Champion:

    • Australian amateur Jordan Smith wins.

      “I was really happy to see that the amateur won.” – Madison (13:25)

  • Would the hosts serve or return?

    • Jess & Jenny: “Receive.” (14:05)
    • Desirae: “Serve!” (14:06). Explains her lefty-slice tactics.

  • Coco Gauff’s meltdown:

    • Jess describes hitting with Coco pre-event:

      “She was talking about, like, I just don't want to serve... I'm gonna be so nervous. And then obviously, didn't go well.” (14:55)

  • Favorite moments:

    • Medvedev vs. Amanda Anisimova; Sakkari vs. carlos Alvarez; close coach point vs. Carlos.

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Rock, Paper, Scissors: The Great Debate (17:01–21:28)

• Spirited disagreement over whether to go on “shoot” or show on “scissors.”

  Jess (18:08): “Shoot is self explanatory... it's always shoot.”
  Des (19:03): “I've done it where you... show your hand on scissors.”

• International confusion and cultural variants discussed. Intense group texts ensued.

  “I was very upset at Desiree for going on scissors.” – Jess (21:19)

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Headlines & Fun Tennis Facts (21:42–25:16)

• Medvedev’s achievement: 22 titles in 22 different cities.

  “That's pretty freaking cool.” – Jenny (22:00)

• Andreeva’s “I’d like to thank myself” shirt:
  • Tributes to Snoop Dogg meme; mixed reactions from cast.

  "She was like, I guess I should thank my team. But I'm the one that actually did any of the work, so I'm gonna thank myself." (23:46)

• Sabalenka’s “where’s my ring?” moment:
  • All hosts agree: Would never call out their own boyfriend like that after a match.

  “Like, I couldn't imagine Maddie being like, yeah, my boyfriend over there... hopefully soon he's something other than my boyfriend.” – Jenny (24:41)

• Jenny vs. Jennifer “Name Drama” replay:
  • Hosts recall Jenny’s infamous post-match name confusion, made viral by Naomi Osaka.

  “I've never asked Jess or dez... what was your reaction to it and to Jenny or Jennifer.” – Jenny (25:28)

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Health & Comebacks (27:53–31:11)

• Jenny Brady’s update: Hasn’t played in over two years; skipped AO qualifying to recover further, aims for a comeback at the ITF 100k in San Diego.

  “My body just said it wasn't ready yet... First tournament back in over two years, so there will definitely be some nerves." (28:15)

  • Jess and Desirae recall Jenny’s memorable on-court “Jenny” outbursts.

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Australian Open Favorite Memories (31:11–41:04)

• Desirae: Overwhelmed by nerves before her AO debut; required a physio’s help to calm down.

  “I was like, going into a full panic attack because I was like, oh my God. I've never played Australian Open.” (31:51)

• Jenny: Cramped out in her third collegiate match—calls it “heart on her sleeve” energy.
• Jess: First AO quarterfinal, then a tight, memorable loss to Jenny in the quarters.
• Maddie: First trip as a junior, wasn’t prepared for Melbourne’s crazy weather swings; packed all wrong.

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Being Defending AO Champion: Madison’s Perspective (41:04–44:04)

• On seeing her photo everywhere:

  “I keep turning corners and there's pictures of me up on the walls and I'm like, oh, my God, I wasn’t expecting that. So, like, jump scare a handful of times.” (41:18)

• On post-win media attention:

  “I had kind of gone, like, under the radar for a few years... then all of a sudden, it was like, no, actually, we have, like, 25 minutes of stuff.” (42:45)

• On favorite press topics:

  “The other day, I got some Real Housewives of Salt Lake City questions, and I got asked if I watched Traders... Those are my favorite questions.” (44:04)

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AO Kits, Outfits & Court Colors (44:08–48:22)

• Wide agreement: This year’s kits (Nike, Adidas, Asics, Wilson, Yonex) all look “amazing”:

  “A lot of the colors... giving me like 2015 vibes and... inspiration from the Nike kits.” – Maddie (45:18)

• Orange, tangerine, and highlighter green are favorites.
• Jenny shares her Babylot kit for San Diego; everyone discusses how brands design outfits to pop against the blue courts at AO.

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Melbourne Food & Coffee Recommendations (48:51–53:43)

• Jenny’s favorites: Hunky Dory and Rockpool (but learns Hunky Dory has closed).

  “When I was in lockdown, I had [Hunky Dory] once a day at least, if not twice a day.” (48:55)

• Desirae: Recommends Abacus, Rustica (for matcha!), Italian restaurant Stella, and is passionate about Messina gelato (macadamia crunch).

  “Messina is my favorite. I only get one flavor, and it's the macadamia crunch.” (51:25)

• Maddie: Backs Code Black café—given the tip by local John Millman; admits to “creature of habit” status.
• Jess: Declares Melbourne the “best coffee city in the world” (52:44).

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Fan Q&A Topics (55:44–65:54)

Towel/Swag Swiping (55:44–60:59)

• All hosts admit to “borrowing” (i.e., stealing) AO and Wimbledon towels and reusable bottles.

  “I definitely swipe the towels.” – Madison (56:44)

• Wimbledon is notoriously tight; best chance comes during rain delays.

  “Playing tug of war with the ball kid... I want the towel.” – Jenny (57:18)

• Some locker rooms rip caps off products to keep players from snatching sunscreen/hair products.

Taking the Match Point Ball (60:44–61:28)

• No, it’s never occurred to them; tennis is different from other sports because of ball rotation.

Choosing Tournaments (62:01–65:54)

• Unanimous: Decisions are a mix of personal preference, coach advice, partner availability, and ranking/entry logistics.

  “I always like to kind of plan so that I have lots of options and then can make decisions as things unfold.” – Madison (64:34)

• Entry deadlines sometimes force over-scheduling with last-minute adjustements.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the One Point Slam nerves:

  “You could tell everyone was so nervous. No one wanted to serve.” – Madison (12:56)

• On nerves & cramping before AO debut:

  “I was, like, going into, like, a full panic attack because I was like, oh, my God. I’ve never played Australian Open.” – Desirae (31:51)

• On being a defending Grand Slam champ:

  “It actually feels really good. I would definitely recommend it if possible... five out of five stars.” – Madison (41:04)

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Segment Timestamps

| Segment | Timestamps | |-----------------------------------|-------------| | Unforced Errors & Winners | 01:11–07:49 | | Tournament Updates | 07:49–10:08 | | One Point Slam Discussion | 11:17–16:57 | | Rock, Paper, Scissors Debate | 17:01–21:28 | | Tennis Headlines | 21:42–25:16 | | Health & Comebacks | 27:53–31:11 | | AO Favorite Memories | 31:11–41:04 | | Defending Champion/Media | 41:04–44:04 | | Kits & Colors | 44:08–48:22 | | Food & Coffee Recs | 48:51–53:43 | | Fan Questions | 55:44–65:54 |

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Tone & Takeaways

The episode delivers exactly what fans hope: insider stories, candid opinions, practical advice, and lots of playful ribbing between genuinely close friends. It’s a must-listen if you enjoy seeing the lighter, very human side of top-level athletes both on and off the tennis court.

Transcript

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[Desiree Krafczyk]

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[Madison Keys]

1-800-Contact contacts. This is the Players Box.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Hi, everyone. Welcome back to another episode of the Players box. I'm Desiree Krafczyk alongside Jenny Brady, Madison Keys and Jess Pagola. A friendly reminder to please Give our podcast five stars and subscribe on YouTube. It is the first grand slam of the year. By the time you're listening to this, the AO or Australian Open will be in full swing. So today we're going to be talking about that, but first we are going to go through our unforced errors of the week. Jenny, start us out.

[Jenny Brady]

Yeah, so last night I was at dinner and I was talking about something that my mom always told me and that is to take your copy of your receipt. So they always give you the merchant copy and the copy customer copy. So I was so focused on filling out my customer copy receipt and taking it with me that I left my credit card at the restaurant. So luckily it was kabuki. So I'll probably be going back in the next few days. But yeah, the owner called me and was like, jenny, you left your credit card. Do you want to come back? And I was literally about to get on i4 and I was like, no, I'm not coming back. Like, there's no way, like, I'm turning around and it was like 9pm And I was like, no, no, no, it's way past my bedtime. I'll just come back on like another day. So now I have to go back and get my credit card. But yeah, so my mom's anxiety tips, you know, have creeped into My head. And I left my credit card. Jesse, do you have an unforced error?

[Jess Pagola]

I feel like I'm just gonna go with a winner. We went and saw MJ the Musical the other night, and my coach loved to tell everybody that we were going to see the musical, which was kind of the funniest part, because if you know my coach, there's not a lot of context behind things that he says. So he'll just, like, see random people and be like, yeah, we're hitting up MJ Friday. And people are like, what are you talking about? And I'm like, oh, no, we're going to see the musical. And they were all. Actually, every response we got was very like, what?

[Jenny Brady]

Why?

[Jess Pagola]

And he's like, why? Did you know? Why is everyone so upset that we're going to see MJ the Musical? Long story short, it was great. We actually saw a couple tennis players there. I think it was Emir. Am I saying that right? One of them. I don't exactly remember which one. Emer. Yeah. And so I saw him at the indoor center, and he, like, walks by me, and so I went with my coach and my hitting partner, Spencer, and we walk. So me and Spencer are walking by him, and, like, I've never spoken to him ever. Just. We just don't cross paths. And he was like, wait a second. I saw your coach at MJ the Musical. Like, oh, yeah, we all went, actually. And he was like, 10 out of 10. It was so great. And I'm like, yeah, it was awesome. So it turned out to be a really awesome show. And it was just really funny that it was me, Spencer, and Mark that went and sat together at MJ the Musical. And we wish Des was there as well, but it was really fun. So that's my winner.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Des. Yeah. I have a unforced error this week. So sometimes at tournaments, the laundry, you mix your whites and the colors. You know, it's probably not a good idea. You think, you know, you should sep. I separated them, actually, but they ended up putting them together, and so my whites were ruined. So then the next time I needed to do laundry, I was like, I am gonna go do it myself. So I put my whites in the bathtub and, you know, had, you know, before match day, just did my little whites cleaning. So I did that on my own because I was so worried that they were going to ruin my whites again. So that was my unforced error of doing my laundry in the bathtub before a match.

[Jess Pagola]

It worked out.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

They're all clean now, thanks to Offsycling.

[Madison Keys]

Well, I guess I kind of have a winner after. Remember, I played Vicky Mboco in Adelaide. I was like, okay, do I try to rush to get to Melbourne?

[Jess Pagola]

Do I.

[Madison Keys]

Do I stay until the next morning? But then I looked, and flights were literally five times as much the next day. So I was like, okay, I'm just gonna try to get out tonight. But then I found out I had anti doping, and I'm like, the queen of taking forever for anti doping. So I was so worried that I was gonna end up, like, missing this flight that was in, like, three hours, because I was like, there's no way I'm gonna do this quickly. But I nailed it. Got it done super quickly. Got back to the room. Packed. Yeah. Had a great few hours. Packed. Got to the airport. Absolutely. Housed some McDonald's at the airport. But, yeah, so that was kind of my. That was my winner of the week. But everyone is making fun of me for my honorary unforced error because people keep asking me about the NFL and, like, the playoffs and the super bowl and everything, and they're like, so who are you cheering for? And I'm like, the Bills and the Bears, obviously. And then. Yeah, I don't know if anyone saw, but they asked, like, who? My, like, newcomer of the year breakout star? And I was like, I don't know anyone except for Josh Allen. Josh Allen.

[Jenny Brady]

Great answer. Great answer.

[Jess Pagola]

When in doubt, just say, josh Allen.

[Jenny Brady]

Yeah. Can we hear what the McDonald's order was?

[Madison Keys]

I kind of went big because I was starving, so I went a McCrispy, and I got nuggets, and I got a 6ft Snuggits one, a large fry, and an Oreo Blizzard. And then I obviously dip the fries in the McFlurry.

[Jenny Brady]

Oh, wow.

[Madison Keys]

Does no one do that?

[Jess Pagola]

No, I do that at Wendy's.

[Madison Keys]

No.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Oh, I do with Wendy with the chocolate cr.

[Madison Keys]

Oh, okay. I like it. I like to do it with Flurry.

[Jenny Brady]

No, wouldn't order.

[Jess Pagola]

The only is not.

[Jenny Brady]

I was. I was waiting for the. I was waiting for the extra oreo in the McFlurry, but she didn't give it to me. Okay, well, moving on to some tennis updates over the last week. Desiree got second finalist in Adelaide. Des. Well done. Good start to the year in Australia. Do you have any stories from the tournament besides your bathtub laundry? Yes.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Well, thank you. Second place. You know, it's been a while. I've been in the finalist circle, so it was nice to be back there. I don't think I have any Other exciting stories, other than my bathtub story.

[Jess Pagola]

Which we can clip the picture in.

[Jenny Brady]

And then Mark can delete you saying clip this in.

[Jess Pagola]

Yeah, but then the audio listeners don't know about it. So when I say clip, maybe he'll keep it in because then they'll go to the YouTube and see the picture of Dez's clothes in the bathtub.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Yes.

[Jenny Brady]

Oh, good.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

But no, not really many stories other than that. But it was our first time actually playing together. I was playing with Lyudmila Kitchenok and it was our first time. We kind of just linked up because we needed to get in and play Herman together. So making finals and not playing together before is pretty good. So I complain.

[Jess Pagola]

Do you guys play well together? Like, I mean, obviously you played pretty well together. But, you know, sometimes it's.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

I think we matched up pretty well. She hits a really big ball and sets me up at the net.

[Jenny Brady]

Same with me.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

I can. She's got kind of a flatter serve and I've got more like a spinnier serve. So that kind of throws off players and, you know, know, it's a different speed every time. But I think we worked well together, so maybe we'll play together in the future.

[Jenny Brady]

Nice. Nice. Well done. Jess. You decided to skip Adelaide and go straight to Melbourne. How are you feeling? Do you want to give an update on your decision there and why you decided not to play Adelaide? I don't know.

[Jess Pagola]

Everyone here is like, are you okay?

[Jenny Brady]

Yeah.

[Jess Pagola]

Because I never really pull out of tournaments. So the general consensus is that, like, I must be, like, on one leg and, like, really injured, crawling. I'm not. Hopefully by the time this episode airs, I can prove that, like, I'm doing well. But. Yeah, no, I just didn't have a great preseason. I think I mentioned that the last episode and playing four matches, four days in a row in Brisbane when I hadn't even had, like, honestly, like a week of kind of training. Normal practicing in was just a lot. And it was pretty hot in Brisbane, too. So just change of schedule, basically. So I've been in Melbourne the whole week and yeah, there's. Whose birds are chirping in the background? I think it's Jenny. I think it's not dead. It's not me. Saw me.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

There are birds chirping in the background for.

[Jess Pagola]

Yeah, sorry. They're birds. If anyone.

[Jenny Brady]

I don't even hear him.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

That was a fire alarm. But, you know.

[Jenny Brady]

Yeah, another smoke alarm for dez.

[Jess Pagola]

But anyways, yeah, been in Melbourne, feel good, all is well.

[Jenny Brady]

So I Woke up to about probably 400 text messages this morning. Not this morning like today, but the morning of. For me, where you. It was the million dollar one point slam. Do you. Does anybody want to go into detail and explained and explained to the listeners what the one point slam was in Melbourne?

[Madison Keys]

I turned it on. I think there was like 30 people left or something like that, but we were out at dinner, so I wasn't watching it. And then I got back into the room and I turned it on and it was so exciting. We were glued to the TV. So it was a. It was 128 draw, wasn't it, originally?

[Jess Pagola]

Yeah.

[Madison Keys]

And there was like as well, qualifiers and buys and all of this stuff, but it was basically one point. And if you were a pro, you got one serve. If you were an amateur, you got two serves and you did rock, paper, scissors, or what do they do here? Scissors, Scissors, paper, raw.

[Jess Pagola]

Okay, that's. We'll talk about that after.

[Madison Keys]

But so that's how you decided. Whoever won got to choose receive or receive or serve. And then it's just one point and whoever wins advances. And you could tell everyone was so nervous. No one wanted. No one wanted to serve everyone.

[Jenny Brady]

Which is so funny.

[Madison Keys]

People were getting so tight. I think it was like Francis missed a first, missed a serve. Yannick missed a serve. Bublik Coco missed a serve. Public missed return from an underhand serve into like the bottom of the net. It was just like crazy. But I. I was really happy to see that the amateur won. That was so cool.

[Jenny Brady]

Yeah, and it was.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

It was Jordan Smith, right?

[Jenny Brady]

Yeah. Amateur from Australia.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Yes, from Sydney, Australia.

[Jess Pagola]

Yeah.

[Jenny Brady]

Yeah. That was awesome. Yeah.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

And then the fine. The other finalist was Joanna. Is it Garland Garland?

[Madison Keys]

Joanna Garland Garland.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Yeah. She played qualifying of AO and then ended up entering this and qualifying to play. But she had quite the run. I mean, everyone was rooting for her, it seemed like, and she actually chose to serve because it was working every time. So, yeah, kudos to her.

[Jess Pagola]

Do you think you guys points there?

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Yeah.

[Jenny Brady]

Do you think you guys would choose to serve or receive?

[Jess Pagola]

Receive.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

I would choose to serve.

[Jenny Brady]

I would choose to receive. Are you kidding?

[Desiree Krafczyk]

I counted my lefty slice down the T or wherever it might be. Why, you know, return.

[Jenny Brady]

But they're. They're gonna. They're just gonna like, roll it in, like, I don't know.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Well, some of them were hitting it.

[Jenny Brady]

But I mean, yeah, I was. I was laughing so hard at Coco's because she was. She was laughing hysterically because she knew as soon as she tossed it was not going over. And then she's literally just, like, about to, like, fall over because she's laughing so hard. And I must have replayed it, like, five or six times because I was laughing so hard. Because it's so relatable. It's so relatable.

[Jess Pagola]

I actually hit with her before she did it. So we hit for, like, almost, I don't know, 90 minutes, basically, before we went. Before she went out. We hit kind of late that day, and she was talking about, like, I just don't want to serve. I just don't want to serve. Like, one serve. Like, I'm gonna be so nervous. And then obviously, didn't go well. And so I saw her, like, in the tunnel there, and she was watching, and I'm like, what happened? Like, how was it? She's like, I totally, like, just completely melts down. Like, I chose. Like, she's like, it was so bad. Like, I just. I. It was. It was. I was out so quickly, so everyone was very nervous.

[Jenny Brady]

I understand.

[Jess Pagola]

It's not that it's not easy. Yeah.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

One point.

[Madison Keys]

Even Janik. Even Jannik missed his serve. Like.

[Jess Pagola]

Yeah. It's human, guys.

[Madison Keys]

They are really stressful.

[Jenny Brady]

Yes.

[Jess Pagola]

And he missed his against the guy that won it against Jordan Smith.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Yeah. There was a really good point between Carlos Alvarez and Maria Sakkari. That was a fun point. They were. And then Amanda played a point against Medvedev.

[Jess Pagola]

Medvedev had a good point. That was a good point.

[Madison Keys]

And one of the coaches. I forget who he's with right now, but he was playing Carlos, and he served and volleyed and literally barely missed the volley.

[Jess Pagola]

He had, like, this, like, low, and he kind of hit it. It would have been, like, a sick drop volley, and it was so close from going over the net. It would have been the sickest point ever. He wasn't going to get it, Carlos.

[Jenny Brady]

You never know. Yeah.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

No, it was really. It was really entertaining, and I think that's what they wanted. And I mean, it was. It was a packed stadium as well. Labor was.

[Jess Pagola]

Yeah. I did not think it was going to be. I thought it was going to be kind of meh. And I was. Yeah, I was into it.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

And Taylor missed out on it as well. He was like, I didn't think it.

[Jess Pagola]

Was going to be great. Wow.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Taylor, Fritz, yaff. And then he was like, oh, I have fomo. Like, this looks like so much fun. I wish I played maybe next year.

[Jenny Brady]

Yeah. Yeah. I wonder if any slams are gonna follow in the footsteps.

[Madison Keys]

Well, and I also think like the craziest thing of watching it is that it turned into like this massive debate amongst all of us about how we do rock, paper, scissors.

[Jenny Brady]

Yeah.

[Madison Keys]

And we're like pulling everyone.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Yeah, just like really just. No, it's this, like. No, I've never played that before, so.

[Jess Pagola]

Well, okay, rewind. Let's just. What really got me was that I was like the guy on the microphone, like the MC that was doing the rock, paper, scissors before for everybody on the mic. So, like throughout the stadium, everyone was getting confused. So he started counting, which made it more confusing because nobody knew to go on three or after three or. I don't even know if he was counting from 3 or 1, 2, 3. It was very confusing. Like, everyone was so confused. And I'm like sitting there in the training room and I'm like watching. I'm like, why don't they just do rock, paper, scissors, shoot? Like that's so you don't get confused. Like, it's pretty. I don't think that's what. When I look, they were four and.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

That'S when they said, go on four.

[Jess Pagola]

But I'm saying shoot is self explanatory. Like, yeah, rock, paper, scissors. There's nothing else to do besides shoot afterwards. Like you wouldn't go rock. Okay, whatever. Let me finish my story. So I'm with an Australian physio and she says to me, we don't do shoot in Australia. I'm like, oh, that's interesting. She's like, yeah, I think, you know, we would probably count or I don't know what else she said. And so then I text the group. Cause we're all laughing and we're all watching and. And DEZ is like, in Australia they. It's because in Australia they do shoot and America doesn't know to say shoot. And I was like, wait, wait, what?

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Like that?

[Jess Pagola]

First of all, no, that's. Everyone does shoot. So it led to this whole conversation. And then you did take back your statement. You were like, okay, I don't know if the Australians do the shoot part. That might have been a bluff comment.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Yeah, and then I was like, wait, I've done it where you go, rock, paper, scissors on scissors. You show your hand.

[Jenny Brady]

No.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

And then. And I actually have asked a few people and they're like, no, we've done that. We've done both ways. So I've definitely done rock, paper, scissors, show your hands on scissors. And then also rock, paper, scissors, shoot. But in Australia they do it differently. It goes scissors, paper, rock. So there's like A. Like 2B in there.

[Jenny Brady]

Yeah, it is.

[Madison Keys]

And it's like you really, like, you.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Gotta really time it. So it's like. And then you go. And it's just like, okay, you go.

[Jess Pagola]

On like the syllables.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Yeah, yeah, you go on rock. So we're gonna need some clarifications. But we did look it up and then they did well on Google. There's a lot predominantly.

[Jess Pagola]

I think it is shoot. I will give you this does. I did. Maddie, I don't know if you did the pod labor podcast. It was part of my media hour. And it's like it was like a podcast room setup. And the one guy, we did a one point ping pong thing. Like, they recreated it and we did rock, paper, scissors. And he was like, do you go on three or do you go on shoot? Or do you go on scissors? Or do you go on shoot? And I was like, oh, my God. We just had this conversation. I am like, it's always shoot. And he was like, actually he's like, I've done both, so I will give it. And he was American, so I'll give it to you. Destination. I think it's more rare. I do think it's predominantly shoot. But yeah, we can pull it.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Yeah, we'll pull footage up. But yes, it was. There was a big debate on that. But anyways, I'm glad we.

[Madison Keys]

Okay, well, maybe. Maybe we have everyone in the comments tell us.

[Jess Pagola]

Yes.

[Madison Keys]

What. What they do and then we can at least. And we can like put a poll up and all of that so that people have some sort of context instead of are in terms of random polls up on Instagram.

[Jess Pagola]

I was talking about it with Mark in the car on the way back and the driver jumped in and he was like, we don't do shoot. I was like, okay.

[Madison Keys]

Everyone seems to have very strong opinions about it.

[Jess Pagola]

Yeah, I was very upset at Desiree for going on scissors.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Let's just say I just got the Desiree too right now. So that means she was really upset.

[Jess Pagola]

It's like, desiree, what are you talking about?

[Jenny Brady]

I just wake up to a bunch of texts and I see first one from DEZ and it's like, do you guys show your hands on scissors? And I was like, what?

[Desiree Krafczyk]

What a wild text to wake up to.

[Jenny Brady]

What? Like, I'm so confused. So I had to like catch up and scroll. But anywho, Medvedev won at Brisbane last week, and that means he has won 22 titles in 22 different cities. That's pretty freaking cool.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

That is awesome.

[Jenny Brady]

Yeah, Like, I've won one in one city.

[Madison Keys]

That's pretty cool, too, right? Kentucky.

[Jenny Brady]

It's pretty cool. I mean, Lexington.

[Jess Pagola]

Yeah. That's sick. I saw he tweeted or posted something like, I'm gonna need a new city.

[Jenny Brady]

Yeah.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

You guys on the calendar.

[Madison Keys]

I can't believe there's, like, that many different places win tournaments.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Amazing.

[Jenny Brady]

Yeah. It's unbelievable. He should, like, one at every city on the calendar.

[Jess Pagola]

Literally. Like, I wonder. I mean, I wonder if some tournaments have, like, come and gone, but it's crazy. When I saw that stat, I was like, no, what? Like, 22. Like, how is that even possible? Like, what is there that even. That many? But, yeah, that's pretty cool.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Yeah.

[Jenny Brady]

And Andrea wore a sweatshirt after she won Adelaide that said, I'd like to thank myself. Did you guys have any thoughts of that?

[Jess Pagola]

I didn't see the sweatshirt.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

I didn't see the sweatshirt either.

[Madison Keys]

Oh, that's like, her thing.

[Jess Pagola]

She.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

The last one. Right.

[Madison Keys]

So she has this Nike shirt, or it's like, jacket, and it's, like, right here on her. Jackets, like, on her. But, like, chest. And it literally says, like, I want to thank me, and it says. It's quoted, and it's a mirror underneath it.

[Jenny Brady]

It's actually funny. Who's. Did someone do that?

[Madison Keys]

Like a celebrity Snoop Dogg meme.

[Jess Pagola]

Yeah.

[Jenny Brady]

I want to thank me. Yeah.

[Madison Keys]

Yeah.

[Jenny Brady]

Oh, yeah.

[Jess Pagola]

I. I mean, I know that she was saying it. I didn't know that she. I haven't seen the shirt. Wow, that's pretty funny.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

And then the finals of Adelaide, she's like, I think I'm gonna thank myself because, I mean, I did all the work, right? Is that what she said?

[Madison Keys]

Well, I think she was like, I guess I should thank my team. But I'm the one that actually did any of the work, so I'm gonna thank myself.

[Jenny Brady]

I'd like to thank me.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Love it.

[Jess Pagola]

Love that. Love that. For her.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Yeah.

[Jenny Brady]

And then Sabalenka applying a little bit of pressure on the boyfriend to. To show up with a ring soon.

[Jess Pagola]

I know. I mean, it's gotta. It's gotta be soon. Like.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Yeah, he's feeling that pressure. Geez.

[Jenny Brady]

Yeah, I know. In front of everyone.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

She made that comment before as well.

[Jenny Brady]

So funny.

[Jess Pagola]

Yeah. I don't think it's the first time.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

No. But she really said, hey, look, I'm waiting, let's go kind of thing.

[Jess Pagola]

She's like, yeah, this time it seemed, like, serious. She's like.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Like, she was kind of like, here or like, Thea.

[Jenny Brady]

Yeah. Like, hopefully I can call you something other than boyfriend love.

[Jess Pagola]

The other pressure, though.

[Jenny Brady]

Yeah. Have you guys ever done. I mean, obviously nothing like that. I don't think any of us would ever say. Like, I couldn't imagine Maddie being like, yeah, my boyfriend over there. Hopefully soon he's something other than my boyfriend. But have you ever done anything post match or said anything or somebody else in a post match speech said anything that you remember?

[Jess Pagola]

I only remember yours.

[Jenny Brady]

We remember yours is like, I got Jenny or Jennifer. I think. I think we all remember that. Actually.

[Jess Pagola]

I was there a lot. Des and I were there live.

[Jenny Brady]

Yeah, you were there live. Actually. I don't think I've ever asked you guys. Like everybody always asked me what. What I thought, like, what, you know, what were you thinking about? Like, why, like, what was your reaction to it and to Jenny or Jennifer. Yeah. And then Naomi saying Jennifer when I said Jenny, but I've never asked Jess or debts.

[Jess Pagola]

I think Des and I caught it and looked at each other and we're like, yeah, didn't you just say, like, call me Jenny? Did she just. And then. Yeah, I think we were just confused. Like, did that really happen?

[Jenny Brady]

I think I was.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

And then we kind of moved on.

[Jenny Brady]

Yeah, same.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Yeah.

[Jess Pagola]

Yeah. I mean, we didn't really care, but it was kind of one of those things where you weren't sure if you heard what you heard. And we just kind of like looked at each other and was like, that was kind of awkward. I think they did kind of pan to you, Jenny. So I don't. We were kind of like her face.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Like on the big screen. We're just like, your face.

[Jess Pagola]

Yeah. And then obviously it blew up online afterwards. But yeah, it's gonna really.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Yeah. We couldn't really hear because we're the players. We're the not player's box. But the coach's box was on the far side of where the trophy ceremony was going, so facing the other direction. And you know, the sound is a little bit muffled, but that's. We could barely hear it.

[Jenny Brady]

So. Yeah, same.

[Jess Pagola]

But honestly, I think that's the most memorable.

[Madison Keys]

How do the most successful women do it? We ask them on how she does it. With Karen Feinerman. You'll get insights from leaders like today's Jenna Bush Hager.

[Jess Pagola]

There's a lot I say no to and I think it's a really important word for women to use.

[Madison Keys]

Rachel Weber of Paris Hilton's 1111 media.

[Jenny Brady]

I'm going to be a much better leader.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

I'm going to bring more creativity if I have Other things filling my life and more.

[Madison Keys]

That's how she does it with me. Karen Feinerman, wherever you get your podcasts. Okay, well, we will keep it going with the Australian Open theme for obvious reasons, but I just wanted to get a quick health update from Jenny. Obviously, you were supposed to be here. We've had lots of people asking, where are you? If you're coming, so can you give us a quick update?

[Jenny Brady]

Where am I? I'm in captivity. I've been released. For all the people that are concerned out there, I've seen the comments, and I have been released. Okay. Yeah. Obviously, you know, I signed up for Australian Open, qualities I would have loved to have been there.

[Jess Pagola]

And.

[Jenny Brady]

And my body just said it wasn't ready yet. So I just made a smart decision to just take a few extra weeks to train and then start with some ITF tournaments here in the States. I'm planning to go to San Diego, which would be this week, and play the 100k there. And I'm actually so excited because I get to see one of my best friends and I get to stay with her in during the tournament. Love a tournament in the States. First tournament back in over two years, so there will definitely be some nerves. Don't know how it's gonna go, but I'll enjoy every single moment of it back on court, competing. So, yeah, so that's my update. Yay.

[Jess Pagola]

We love that.

[Madison Keys]

Can't wait to hear that.

[Jess Pagola]

Hopefully it goes well.

[Jenny Brady]

Yeah.

[Jess Pagola]

Where are you guys? Where you put. Where's the tournament at? It's at Barnes Tennis Center.

[Jenny Brady]

It's at Barnes? Yeah. I don't think I played there since, like, National Hardcourts.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Hardcore.

[Jenny Brady]

I just remember me and you hanging out, Des.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Oh, my gosh. Wild times. Wow. Well, if anyone's in the area in California, go watch Jenny.

[Jenny Brady]

Or don't. The less people, the better.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

No.

[Jess Pagola]

I don't know why I'm picturing, like, a Jenny meltdown. Not, like, even in a bad way, just like, maybe it isn't a bad way.

[Jenny Brady]

Someone actually asked. Someone asked one of, like, the sports psych psychologists over at usta, and they were like, oh, how's Jenny doing? Like, you know, just like. Because there was a week where we were playing a bunch of matches and stuff, and he was like, she's very volatile. And I was like, yeah, it's pretty accurate.

[Jess Pagola]

Yeah. I don't mean like, a meltdown, but like a good. Like, Jenny.

[Jenny Brady]

Yeah.

[Jess Pagola]

Or like a Jenny.

[Jenny Brady]

Yeah. I gave a couple of those today when I was serving.

[Jess Pagola]

I was like, jenny, Yeah. I need. I need.

[Jenny Brady]

Slap on the leg, Jenny.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Gosh.

[Jess Pagola]

Yeah, Jenny. That's what I miss.

[Jenny Brady]

Yeah.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Yeah.

[Jenny Brady]

There will be a lot of those. I'm not a robot.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Yeah.

[Jess Pagola]

You wear your heart on your sleeve.

[Jenny Brady]

I wear my heart on the sleeve.

[Jess Pagola]

You just right here.

[Jenny Brady]

Yep.

[Madison Keys]

It's beating. It's beating. Okay, so moving on from Jenny's heart on her sleeve, what is everyone's first memory that pops into your head when you think of the Australian Open? Does you start?

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Well, obviously, I don't know why, but I did not think of a good moment. I thought about my first Australian Open, and I was panicking, like, stress sweating in the physio room, and they had to, like, calm me down. I was, like, going into, like, a full panic attack because I was like, oh, my God. I've never played Australian Open.

[Jess Pagola]

Oh, my God.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

I just want to win first around. And I think I, like, sweat through my clothes. And I had to go change. And I was playing with someone new. I was playing with now Hibino, and that was our first time playing together. And I think it was pretty warm that day anyways, and obviously I'm nervous. I definitely started cramping in the first set, and I was. I didn't know how to control. I didn't know how to control my nerves. It was insane.

[Jenny Brady]

And so this.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Well, prior to this prior going on court, I had one of the massage therapists or physios. She. She was like, are you okay? And I was like, yeah, I've just, like, never played straight open. I'm just so nervous. Like, I don't know. And this was before. You're going to talk to mental health. And going into, you know, Caroline's office, you know, that was all the norm. Like, I didn't do that. When I did, she was like, okay, well, we can just try and calm you down. So I laid on the massage table. She covered my eyes with, like, paper towel. He's like, okay, we're gonna do some breathing exercise. Okay, okay. And she's, like, trying to, like, calm me down, and it helped. And she's like, just remember to breathe when you're out there. And I was like, okay. So I'm out there, like, I'm playing, and I think we win, like, in two sets or so. But I was just so relieved. It was just like the first mass jitters. And we made third round, which was great, but that was, I guess, my memorable first time making a third round of the AO and then also freaking out beforehand. But, yeah, that's my AO Memory.

[Jenny Brady]

Wow. Sounds great.

[Jess Pagola]

Sounds like a great time. That was.

[Jenny Brady]

It's only going up from there.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Yeah, it's gone up. I mean, you definitely learn from that. Well, I think I have, but sometimes creeps in. But cramping, I mean, that's wild. I feel like there are some players that has happened to where you get nervous and you kind of cramp because your body's just in so like fight or flight mode.

[Jenny Brady]

But yeah.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Can't just be me.

[Jenny Brady]

No. I've cramped. Third game of a match before.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Oh.

[Jess Pagola]

How?

[Jenny Brady]

It was like my first college match for the team. I wear my heart on my sleeve. Freshman year.

[Madison Keys]

Oh, my God.

[Jenny Brady]

I was so nervous.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

There have been players, I'm sure, that have, like, thrown up before a match. Like, I know someone that's. I don't know, played a map before he went to play his match at ao. He was so nervous and he started peeking before the match. And then, of course you're going to be cramping in the match because it's like your nerves and everything, but yeah.

[Jenny Brady]

Josh Allen. Yukes. Before every game.

[Jess Pagola]

Yeah. I was literally about to say it.

[Jenny Brady]

Sorry I beat you to it.

[Jess Pagola]

Raised your hand.

[Jenny Brady]

I raised my hand. And she let me go.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

I know.

[Jess Pagola]

And I let you go. I know. Yeah. So anyone else? Jessica. My best memory, I just. It was the first slam that I like, really did well at making quarters. And then I think I lost to Jenny 3. We had a really good match, though.

[Jenny Brady]

We had such a good match.

[Jess Pagola]

You won like what, 6, 3, 64 and the third or something like that?

[Jenny Brady]

Maybe. Yeah. I don't remember what the score was.

[Jess Pagola]

But it was like a really fun, high level match and it was the first time I. Yeah, I kind of went deep, like at a slam. So I always have, yeah, really good memories here. But I would think that's. That's kind of my first memory was doing that. And then. Yeah. Playing Jenny in the quarters. And then that's when you made finals.

[Jenny Brady]

Yeah.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

And then I watched you. Yeah.

[Jess Pagola]

Maddie.

[Madison Keys]

My first memory of Australian Open, I actually played juniors. I didn't play a lot of the Junior Slams. For whatever reason, I played the furthest one from me. And I just remembered always watching on TV and hearing about, like, it's so hot. It's like 110 degrees every day. It's summer, Whatever. So when I was packing, I was like, okay, it's gonna be hot. Like, I don't need to bring like any sweatpants or sweatshirts or anything. And then it was just like one of those very Typical Melbourne summers where it was, like, freezing for, like, the whole first week. So it was, like, high of 65 every single day, and all I had was, like, my full summer clothes, so I had to, like, go out and buy all of this warmer stuff. And then, of course, two days later, it was, like, 98 degrees because the wind changed and the heat came rolling in. So, yeah, that was my first trip to Australia, and I was like, okay, noted. Bring clothes for all weather conditions for the rest of time.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Yep.

[Jenny Brady]

Yeah.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Four seasons in a day here.

[Jenny Brady]

Yeah. My first memory of Australia is when I was playing in. It may have been I qualified and I was in, like, first or second round, and I was supposed to leave tickets. I've told this story before, but that was, like, our first episode on the pod, I believe, but. And I'm gonna tell it again. I'm gonna tell it again. So I'm playing in this match, first time ever, qualifying for a Grand Slam, and I don't have. I am traveling with the usta, I believe, so I don't have anybody that needs tickets. So an Australian player asked me if I had any extra tickets, and I was like, yeah, sure. Like, I'm not using them. You can have them. And so she goes, oh, okay, great. She. It was John Pierce's sister, and it was. I think it was his last.

[Jess Pagola]

OZ.

[Jenny Brady]

Open, so, like, his whole family and everybody were gonna come and watch. So I just asked her, like, yeah, like, where do I get tickets? And she was like, oh, just like, go player services, and, you know, just ask for two tickets and just leave them there for me. And I was like, okay, great. Like, where do you want me to leave them? And she's like, you can leave them in the locker room. So I was like, okay, perfect. Yeah, I'll do it once I get on site tomorrow. So tomorrow comes and I'm on site, and I go and I warm up for my match. And then, you know, I'm getting ready to go on court. I'm on court and I have not picked up tickets. I've not left tickets. And I'm literally in the middle of my match, and I go to serve, and I'm As. I'm tossing the ball up. I'm like, look in the stands as the ball is being tossed, and I go, the tickets. I forgot the tickets. So I literally, in the middle of my match, was thinking about, oh, my God, I never left the tickets. And it was, like, middle of the day, so it was like. It was too late. He probably had already played his Match, like, done, you know, And I. I felt awful. I immediately, like, finished the match and I like, texted her and I was like, omg, omg, omg. I forgot to leave the tickets. Like, I just remembered in the middle of my match, like, I'm so sorry. I haven't heard from her since. But.

[Madison Keys]

For you, Sally.

[Jenny Brady]

Yeah, sorry, Sally. It was not intentional. Like, I literally forgot. So now I don't. Like when people ask for tickets, I'm like, no. Like, I'm using them. Sorry. So, yeah, so that was. That's my first memory of the Australian Open.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Like your memory?

[Jenny Brady]

Yeah.

[Jess Pagola]

Oh, my gosh. That's such a good story because I've literally thought about the most random things like that during a match.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Yeah.

[Jenny Brady]

Yeah. I thought about so many random things and I'm like, oh, my God, what am I doing? Like, I'm down a break.

[Jess Pagola]

Like, I need to walk in.

[Jenny Brady]

Like, and not think about tickets.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Like, what?

[Jenny Brady]

Come on.

[Jess Pagola]

Yeah. So, Maddie, I wanted to ask you how it feels being defending champ here this year doesn't happen. Not everyone gets to be a defending Grand Slam champion coming into the year, especially to start the. The year. So how does it feel?

[Madison Keys]

Feels. It actually feels really good. I would definitely recommend it if possible. Like, you know, five out of five stars.

[Jess Pagola]

I.

[Madison Keys]

It's been really. It's been really fun. I will say. I keep like, turning corners and there's like pictures of me up on the walls and I'm like, oh, my God, I wasn't expecting that. So, like, jump scare a handful of times. But it's. I mean, it's amazing. It was honestly just like the most incredible two weeks. And I think it's easy to, like, you look back and you like romanticize the whole thing and you're like, oh, it was incredible the whole time and whatever. Meanwhile, I, like, had an absolute battle. Late second round, three sets, like, barely scraped by. I had like the toughest draw of all time. So it was like every day I was like, oh, my God, I have to play. Who now had a match point down and had lots of three set matches. So it's funny, like, being back and being like, oh, actually it was. It was actually like really hard. There was like, actually lots of drama throughout the whole thing. But I mean, coming back has been really, has been really fun.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Do you feel like the media has been different since you came back? Or do you feel like there's just more questions about all of that? Or do you feel like it's a different type of vibe because you were defending Champion. Like, there's more attention towards you.

[Madison Keys]

I think that. I think at this point, it's kind of. It's like a little bit of old news as much as it can be old news. But right immediately after, I felt a massive shift because I had kind of gone, like, under the radar for a few years. It was great because we had people like Coco and Jess, and Amanda was doing well. There was all these other young Americans that haven't been around the block as much as I have, so it was like they got to do all of the talking. So I used to be able to, like, finish matches and be like, oh, there's no press. Okay, bye. And then all of a sudden, it was like, no, actually, we have, like, 25 minutes of stuff, and you like, oh, okay. But no, it's been pretty fun. And I think everyone is, at this point, like, knows they've asked me every single possible question. So luckily, I'm. I'm always glad when there's. There's a handful of people that are in press. Like, the other day, I got. I got some Real Housewives of Salt Lake City questions, and I got asked if I watched Traders. And, like, those are. Those are my favorite questions.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Those are good. Outside of tennis.

[Jenny Brady]

Yeah.

[Jess Pagola]

That's great. Do we want to talk about. Real quick, more fun subject? The AO kits.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Oh, so many good ones.

[Jess Pagola]

What kits are we loving?

[Madison Keys]

I really like them.

[Jess Pagola]

And what are we wearing? I think everyone did a really good job this year.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

I love the Adidas orange. The dress that you're wearing. Jessica and Maddie's dress looks so good. I think Amanda's also wearing that color.

[Jess Pagola]

I think.

[Madison Keys]

Yeah. I don't know if she's gonna wear the dress or the separates, but.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

But it's also, like, a tie from past kids, right? From Serena, and a little bit of mix of Serena Williams and Maria Sharpova. Is that what it was tailored to?

[Madison Keys]

I honestly, I don't know exactly where it came from, but I will say, when I opened my bag the other day and I saw a lot of the colors, it was. It was giving me, like. I think it was, like, 2015. Was it 2015? Yeah, like 2015 vibes and, like, inspiration from the Nike kits. That was.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Yeah, it was black and yellow or, like, a lime green?

[Madison Keys]

No, Serena had a. Serena had a. It was, like, yellow and hot pink. And then hers. I think her dress was yellow, and then she had, like, hot pink accents. And then I think Maria's was maybe like, the main color was pink, but they made the final. That Year so I can go back and look.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

So it kind of brought those colors back a little bit.

[Madison Keys]

I think so. But I've also. I really, really like basically everything that Wilson has been doing.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Yes.

[Jess Pagola]

Yeah.

[Madison Keys]

They've been killing it.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Yeah. And also Asics, I think, also has some good stuff, too. I love the pink, and I think it was like a. It's like magenta and a green shorts. I think that's what they were wearing.

[Madison Keys]

But I also really, really like the Yonex kits.

[Jess Pagola]

Yes. I was just about to say that.

[Jenny Brady]

Which one's that?

[Madison Keys]

Like, Rybakana's dress always is so, so nice. I'm not sure.

[Jenny Brady]

Looks good in everything. Yeah.

[Madison Keys]

But I feel I haven't seen. I haven't seen what they're wearing here yet. But I've really liked the kind of, like, darker green and orange that the Yonex. All the Yonex kits were leading into. Ao. So some good outfits.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Yeah. Orange is going to look good on you, Jesse.

[Jess Pagola]

Yeah, thank you.

[Jenny Brady]

Yeah, it will look really good. You can catch my Babylot kit at the 100k in San Diego. It'll be a peach skirt with a white top and, like, a green trim. I sent a photo of it to Jess.

[Jess Pagola]

Crop, too.

[Jenny Brady]

Yeah, it's like a little crop. So I might starve myself the week before.

[Jess Pagola]

Can't wait to see it.

[Jenny Brady]

No, it's not like. It's not like a crop crop. It's like, it, like, meets the skirt. So.

[Jess Pagola]

Yeah.

[Jenny Brady]

But, yeah, it'd be very simple. Yeah, it's. It's simple. Yeah.

[Jess Pagola]

Yeah, it's been a lot of. I would just say, like. Yeah, bright. Kind of bright, fun summer colors.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Yeah.

[Jess Pagola]

With everyone. Because I think I went to the Yonek store a few days ago, and, yeah, it's like a. It's kind of similar colors, not the exact same, but Nike, like, that a little bit of, like, a highlighter green type vibe, and there's like a bright blue, and it kind of like, ombre, like, into each other. It's pretty cool. And then, yeah, the Adidas stuff is all a really nice orange, and they have, like, some tangerine colors, and it looks really good. I think it looks really nice against the. The bright blue quartz.

[Madison Keys]

Yeah, I was going to say, I feel like a lot of the manufacturers and, like, the designers take into account of, like, the color of the court here, and I feel like it's always.

[Jess Pagola]

It.

[Madison Keys]

It's always really, really bright, bold colors, and they always look so good against the blue.

[Jess Pagola]

Yeah. I loved my Adidas color. Last year, it was kind of like pinkish red. And then we had, like, the baby pink, like, top. It was very, like, Valentine's Day. Yeah, it was. It was kind of like a red pink, but I don't know. It looks so good in pictures against the. The court. So I do like how they play into that. Anyone have any good food, coffee, restaurant recommendations, traditions, places they like to go here in Melbourne specifically.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Jenny.

[Jess Pagola]

Jenny's nodding her head really excitedly.

[Jenny Brady]

I always. I always get your top five. Oh, I always get hunky dory. Yeah. When I was in lockdown, I had it once a day at least, if not twice a day. And rock pool. Love their bone in ribeye. I would just rotate between those two. I'm a creature of habit. What? Oh, coffee shops. Oh. Oh, my gosh.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

What is it?

[Jenny Brady]

What am I blank? I'm blanking on the name. Maddie's face is gonna be wild. I'm not looking at it.

[Madison Keys]

We're making. As you're trying to remember are crazy.

[Jenny Brady]

They could just be edited out. I'm trying to remember what's the. What's the main. What's the one street there? There's a coffee. Blank street. No, not Blank Street. That's in. Yes. Little Collins.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

They have a little Collins here. That's very kind.

[Jenny Brady]

Yeah, but I don't know if it's the same.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Okay, so. So, okay. Rock pool, Unky Dory and coffee shop. Little Collins. Got it.

[Jenny Brady]

Yeah.

[Jess Pagola]

Simple. Go ahead, dez, since you're kind of.

[Jenny Brady]

A. Oh, I also.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Sorry. Yeah, go ahead, Jenny. Go ahead.

[Madison Keys]

Sorry.

[Jenny Brady]

Last thing before. I don't want to cut anybody off, but I love vegemite. I eat it every single morning when I'm there for breakfast on my toast. And I spread it like.

[Jess Pagola]

Like.

[Jenny Brady]

Like it should be spread. Although maybe a little bit more than what the Australians have showed me. I spread it on. It's like. Like how the Europeans put Nutella on their toast. Yeah.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Whoa. That's a lot of.

[Jenny Brady]

Yeah, I love it.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Okay.

[Jenny Brady]

Sorry.

[Jess Pagola]

Go ahead.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Okay. My top five. Well, I usually stay in the south era area. I love hunky Dory, but sadly, it is gone. Sorry, Jenny, to disappoint you. Love the coffee shops. Abacus is really good. Rustica is very good. I'm a big matcha drinker, so I get coffee sometimes, but makes me too jittery. So matcha it is. I'm trying to think restaurants. We went to one last night. Stella. It's a very good Italian restaurant. Love that place.

[Jess Pagola]

Very good.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

I have to say Messina is my favorite. I love going to Messina. It's an ice cream gelato place, and it is so good. I only get one flavor, and it's the macadamia crunch. And it is so good.

[Jenny Brady]

Yes. Messina's got a gift card from there.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

For Christmas, and it was great. I really know that we can lead to my heart. Maddie. Top five.

[Madison Keys]

I definitely don't have five restaurants or coffee shops that I can actually remember the names of. I'm, like, a total creature of habit, and I go to the same places, but I just know exactly, like, where they are or they're in my Uber Eats history. But I was talking to John Millman, and I saw him in Brisbane and in Adelaide, and he's, like, also a massive coffee snob. So he's been telling me where to go every single week for the good coffee. And he told me in Melbourne that I need to go check out Code Black. So I will be listening to John Millman and checking out cold Code Black this week.

[Jess Pagola]

The coffee here in Melbourne, specifically for those that have never been and don't know, is probably the best in the world. I feel like, consistently, like, of all the cities I've been to, Melbourne has probably the best coffee. Like, I feel like you can go to a place that maybe doesn't even have a high rating and, like, it's pretty good. Where? I don't know. I feel like a lot of other cities. You can't really do that.

[Jenny Brady]

No, you can't.

[Jess Pagola]

Yeah.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

I mean, everyone raves about the coffee here. Who come here from.

[Jess Pagola]

Yeah, all over the world.

[Jenny Brady]

Yeah.

[Jess Pagola]

I didn't even know how. Yeah, you don't really know how good it is until you come and, like, you and then you go back home and you're like, wow, the coffee was so much better everywhere that I went, Even random places that I wasn't expecting to have good coffee. So that's always. I think my favorite part of coming back here is good coffee.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

It's very word of mouth. I mean, all the players, you tend to share or don't share. I guess some players keep it to themselves of their favorite coffee shop so they don't see a bunch of tennis players there, you know, so it's like your own. But I think word spreads pretty quickly.

[Jess Pagola]

Okay.

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[Jess Pagola]

Onto who am I? So last week we sort of forgot kind of to do one. We were so fired up about Coco doing hers and kind of, you know, hers was Chris Eubanks and we forgot to actually put mine in. So I'm going to do one now. I will give three hints and. And everyone here on the pod and in the comments can try and guess who I am talking about. So first tip. She earned her college degree in business administration while still playing. She once played the longest woman's match in Wimbledon history. And she's a vegan.

[Experian Advertiser]

Really?

[Jess Pagola]

Just that.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Just that she's a vegan. Yeah.

[Jess Pagola]

Earned her college degree in business administration while playing. Played longest match. Once played the longest match in Wimbledon history. And she's a vegan. So everybody comment below, try and guess yeah. Who it is. And we will announce it next week. You win. Pride and glory.

[Jenny Brady]

IPhone.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

A friend. Yeah.

[Jenny Brady]

Not me. I'm a meatatarian. Okay, we're moving on to some fan questions. First question from Katie. Hopefully keeping it easy for Jenny to pronounce. Oh, she wrote that IGA stealing all of the towels last year made me wonder how closely that's monitored. What can you swipe from tournaments? Towels, reusable water bottles, merch. Can you take your match point ball if it was something super important like a slam final or do they make you return everything at the end? Is there anything really good you shouldn't have taken but did anyways? Well, Katie, that's about five questions. Katie, Katie, we're being nice. That was more than one question. But would anybody like to answer Katie's question, give some insight?

[Madison Keys]

I definitely swipe the towels.

[Jenny Brady]

Yeah.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Oh, 100.

[Jess Pagola]

Everybody does.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

If they're on your bench, you can take them. And if they're in the coolers, like at some tournaments, like French Open, they have them in the coolers. Extra stash. Yeah. You go and put those in your bag. Yeah, shove it in there.

[Jess Pagola]

Everybody loves towels too. Like, everybody wants a towel.

[Madison Keys]

The only. The only tournament that used to kind of monitor it would be Wimbledon. They would try to take the towels back. So you would love if you could get a rain delay.

[Jenny Brady]

Playing tug of war with the ball, kid. I want the towel. I remember one of my opponents asked was. She was like, can I take the towels?

[Jess Pagola]

And.

[Jenny Brady]

And they were like, no. So then they Took him away from her. And literally, as she asked that, I was like. And I threw him in my bag.

[Jess Pagola]

And zipped it up. I was like, I think the key is to throw them in your bag as soon as you get on court. Like the extra ones.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Yeah. Yes.

[Jess Pagola]

So that way, like, no one can take them back from you, like, once they're in your bag. But yeah, I think Wimbledon is the only place where I've had issues trying to take some of the towels. Specifically, kind of like after Covid, I think. I don't know, they got a little stingy with, like, with the towels. I think they do. They, like, literally tried to take them from me and I was like, what? I was like, no, it's like my towel. It's like, like, what are you talking about?

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Yeah, there was last year, I think a year before, and like Maddie said, I think we had like two or three rain delays. Because on the grass court, if it's a little damp, like you go off court sometimes. And I think I was playing mixed doubles on that court three. And Neil and I, I was like, oh, we gotta take the towels. So we went off court, waited, and then I was like, yes, we get more towels. So we. I think I got like four that match because, you know, maybe like five. But they were cinchy, I think. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Jess Pagola]

Like the same exact ones, or do we have, like.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

They have the exact same ones and then they have bigger ones as well. Like, they've got a bigger collection of it.

[Jenny Brady]

Oh, like different colors and stuff.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Yeah.

[Madison Keys]

But they also, like the tournaments also, at some point, assume you're going to take the towels. Like in the finals here. Last year, all of our towels had our names engraved on them.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Yeah.

[Jess Pagola]

Which is a nice touch.

[Madison Keys]

I don't take those home.

[Jess Pagola]

I don't really. Yeah, yeah. I think they know that you're taking. It's not like stealing. No, like, they know you're taking the. Also you're using. You're sweating all over the towels. Like, it's kind of, I think, part of what they give you.

[Madison Keys]

And.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

And with all the reusable water bottles we get, I mean, we are getting a ton. And those water, like the water drop ones are great. And I think a lot of people. Actually, I've had a. People. A couple people ask me that, they were like, hey, can I have your water bottle? And I was like, yeah, sure. Like at Brisbane or Adelaide, those water bottles, even the ones at Wimbledon, are French pe. Those. They're selling them. And people or fans are like, hey, Can I have your water bottle? It's like, wow, okay, $14.

[Jess Pagola]

14.

[Jenny Brady]

No, those water bottles are nice. I might have to go show up to some matches and ask for J. Can I get your water bottle?

[Desiree Krafczyk]

No. Wibbled in EVR1 or can you sign it?

[Jess Pagola]

Is there anything that we've taken but shouldn't have taken, but did anyways?

[Desiree Krafczyk]

I've definitely taken some sunscreen from the locker room.

[Jess Pagola]

Oopsie. Some hair products.

[Jenny Brady]

Yeah.

[Jess Pagola]

Baby, I plead the fifth. Yeah, sometimes they have nice, they have nice products in the.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

But I think the blocker rheumatizes say no. So like instead of taking all the caps off the cap, they'll rip off the cap. So you cannot take it, which is smart because it goes in about two days. It's the first week of the tournament and things are gone and.

[Jess Pagola]

Yeah.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Yeah. I actually have never thought about the match ballpoint of a tournament like me either. I never thought about that.

[Madison Keys]

Didn't even think about it.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Yeah, I was more so concerned about the, the towels and you know, trophy.

[Jess Pagola]

I think that's a lot more common in other sports like the game ball or like in hockey when you score your 50th goal or something like that, like monumental first goal, first hat trick, then they'll like always get the puck or the ball or whatever it is and like someone usually takes a picture with it.

[Jenny Brady]

That's cool.

[Madison Keys]

Tennis is a little different though. Like we have, there's always six balls in rotation and you change them.

[Jess Pagola]

Yeah.

[Madison Keys]

Multiple times in a match. So it's like which ball was like the most special.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

And then you lose it by the time you're celebrating and the ball kid's.

[Jess Pagola]

Like, wait, where's that ball? Yeah, yeah, exactly.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Good questions, Katie.

[Jenny Brady]

You hit it up in the stands. You hit it up in the stands and a little kid catches it and you're like, wait, I want that ball back. Okay, next question from Gemma. How do you decide which tournaments you play in a season? An example, Brisbane Adelaide or both? Is it made in collaboration with coaches in your team or do you decide yourself? Desiree?

[Desiree Krafczyk]

I definitely decide with my coach. It also depends on the level as well as the partner. If we're going to get into the event. I usually will try and play the 500s and play the two lead up events to KO or slams. But I think it's. I play a lot of tournaments, so. Yeah, that's what I feel.

[Jess Pagola]

Yes, I like for instance, you know, Brisbane Adelaide. I think I always discuss it like with my coaches based on how I'm feeling. But I always feel like the decision ultimately is my own decision. So, like, I wanted to go to Brisbane because I felt like I kind of needed to break myself in a little bit with matches, which I felt like was the right decision. And then actually, for Adelaide, I talked and Mark was pretty direct, like, he didn't want me to play. And then when I pulled out, he was like. I was like, you didn't think I was gonna pull out, did you? And he was like, no chance. I did not think you were gonna pull out. I was like, I proved you wrong. Wrong, basically. So it's kind of funny because, yeah, usually, I mean, they never make it seem like they're telling me what to do. At least my coaches, it's very. But that's also how I am. Like, I'm very. Like, it's my decision. I'm like, yeah, yeah. So it's never like, them telling me I made the wrong decision or anything like that. I don't really think that's great.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

But, Maddie, is it based off how.

[Jess Pagola]

Oh, sorry, go ahead.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

I said, is it based more off of, like, how many matches you played that first week? And it's like, okay, I want to rest before. At Slam, I think everyone's different.

[Jess Pagola]

I think it's just, like, weighing the pros and cons and then them, like, also giving feedback on what they've seen that maybe is something that, like, I'm blind to or I denial about or don't want to hear kind of sometimes. And sometimes I also don't realize, like, they'll track kind of, like, how much I've been training, and they'll be like, you know, you haven't had a day off in, like, 13 days. And they're like, you know, you're headed into this week or this Slam or whatever, like, you need to take, like, a couple days off. Because if you want to, you know, obviously, if you want to do well, like, you're not gonna have a day off for a month. Like, that's insane. And I'm like, oh, I didn't even. I didn't even think about that because it just gets. You get into this blur of, like, all this stuff. So I think them just also. Yeah. Acknowledging things that maybe I'm not thinking about.

[Madison Keys]

Yeah, I mean, I think at the end of the day, it's kind of like you sign up for probably, like, everything without it being everything. And then I think that's the. Sometimes it's the hard part of entry deadlines being so far in advance. It's like it's so dependent on how the next couple of weeks go on, if it's which way you should play or not play or that. So I feel like we kind of all have like a. We kind of all sign up for a lot and then it's like if I did really well and then I. I'll fly home and I'll have like four days and then I have to get back on a plane. Probably doesn't make sense to go. So I feel like it's more. So I always like to kind of plan for plan so that I have lots of options and then I can kind of make decisions as, like, things unfold.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Yeah. Because the entry is what, four to six weeks before the event starts.

[Jess Pagola]

Four.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Six.

[Jenny Brady]

Yeah.

[Madison Keys]

Yeah.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Because doubles is always two weeks before every event sets a lot of shorter. Yeah. Good questions.

[Jess Pagola]

Yeah.

[Jenny Brady]

Great questions. Okay, that concludes our episode for this week. Thank you everybody for your questions. Please continue to ask us questions and we will answer them every week. Please leave us a rating and review. It helps people find out about the podcast. And don't forget to watch us. For all you listeners out there on the players box YouTube page and send us fan questions via Instagram or to our [e-mail] thanks. And this is the end of your guided meditation.

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[Jess Pagola]

Experian.