The Player’s Box | Episode 25: AO Recap, Tennis Calendar & Cheesy Apple Pie

Date: February 3, 2026
Hosts: Madison Keys, Jessica Pegula, Jennifer Brady, Desirae Krawczyk

Episode Overview

This episode is a lively post-Australian Open debrief where the hosts recount everything from on-court action and behind-the-scenes mishaps to tennis calendar talk and a hilariously cringe-worthy food bet. The mood is light, refreshingly candid, and loaded with stories about life as top pros—including unwinding routines, memorable fan interactions, and (of course) the infamous "cheesy apple pie" wager. The episode also digs into evolving tennis traditions, privacy concerns at tournaments, and the unfiltered reality of the tennis travel grind.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Unforced Errors and Winners of the Week

(00:40 – 08:07)

• Cheesy Apple Pie Bet (00:40)
  Madison Keys finally pays up on a lost bet to Jess Pegula by eating apple pie with cheese—live on the pod.

  • Madison’s Reaction:
    "It kind of tastes like if you accidentally took a bite of Mac and cheese and apple pie at Thanksgiving at the same time. And I don’t like that." (01:42)
  • The cheese had gotten cold and melty due to technical difficulties, only making things more disgusting.
  • Memorable Quote:
    "A bet is a bet, and I pay up. That’s definitely my unforced error, and I would like to move on from this tough moment in my life." – Madison (03:34)

• Jenny Brady’s Comeback & Winner of the Week
  Jenny celebrates reaching the semifinals after two years away:

  • "My winner of the week is finally playing a tournament after 848 days." (05:00)

• Travel Fails
  Jessica Pegula details a laugh-out-loud travel mishap—mixing up her seat and gate numbers, rage-texting her agent, and ultimately walking sheepishly through the plane:

  • "I started low key rage texting my agent because I was like, ‘I could have sworn I was meant [for business]. What happened?’...I was actually 4A, and I was like, ‘Oh my god.’" (05:00-07:39)

2. AO Champions & Match Analysis

(09:49 – 14:43)

• Women’s Champion: Elena
  Jess Pegula, who played Elena at WTA Finals, praises her aggressive playstyle and world-class serving:

  • "She’s just playing super confident. She plays very aggressive and I think she’s pretty well-rounded...Her serve, obviously, I think is probably the best on tour currently." – Jess (10:45)
  • Madison offers tactical analysis, including stats about increased topspin that makes Elena’s serve even harder to return (11:53).

• Men’s Champion: Carlos
  The crew is in awe of Carlos achieving the career Grand Slam at age 22:

  • "That’s what, seven Grand Slams already?...I honestly thought he was older until that stat came out again, and it said he was 22." – Multiple (13:41-14:03)
  • Discussion of the changing of the guard, with Jannik chasing his own Slam set, and reflections on the presumed post-Big Three "lull" that never happened.

• Media Moment: Novak’s Press Conference
  Madison describes a viral Novak Djokovic press conference:

  • "[Novak said], 'Are we gonna not talk about, like, the middle? Where, you know, I was chasing Rafa and Roger, and then I dominated, and now I’m chasing again. Like, we’re gonna skip that giant middle?'" (15:36)

3. Tour Headlines & Debates

(16:57 – 21:10)

• Craig Tiley’s Three-Out-of-Five Proposal for Women
  The hosts react to AO’s suggestion of women playing best-of-five from the quarterfinals:
  • "I think we’re all capable...I don’t think I would sign up to do more." – Madison (17:20)
  • Multiple agree, if women go to best-of-five, so should men—from quarters on—for fairness and practical reasons (18:48).
  • "If they’re going to make a drastic decision like that...there needs to be something to balance that out." – Jess (19:19)

4. AO Stories, Privacy, & Camera Controversies

(22:08 – 31:27)

• Cheesy Pie Goes Viral
  Madison and Jess reveal the cheesy apple pie bet became a huge talking point in media and even made it onto ESPN:

  • "Can we just—can we be done with the cheese pie questions? Like, this is getting out of hand literally for like, over an hour." – Jess (22:32)

• Camera Invasions at Tournaments
  Major discussion on privacy at events, especially at the Australian Open:

  • "It went from not having any cameras to all of a sudden...clips from walking in the hallways, in the gym kept going viral...players had no idea." – Madison (24:11)
  • "There should be some safe spaces on site where it’s like, there are no cameras, but there is a hard surface that you could, in fact, smash a racket." – Madison (25:38)
  • Jess recounts the infamous "rage room" idea and recalls her own post-loss racket-smashing stories, both in stairwells and outside empty spaces (26:33).

• Boundaries & Content Creation
  Desirae raises concerns about cameras zooming in on players’ phones and constant behind-the-scenes content:

  • "You want to give the fans content, but... you’re invading privacy and it’s so unnecessary." – Desirae (27:51)

5. Tournaments, Broadcasting Rights & Social Media Mishaps

(32:00 – 38:49)

• Snack Haul Video Drama
  The hosts’ self-filmed video about AO locker room snacks was ordered taken down due to broadcast rights, despite non-stop official filming elsewhere.
  • Madison: "It feels kind of crazy that we can be filmed the moment we walk on site...but none of that footage of us we actually have ownership of." (32:39)
  • Jenny ends up stealthily archiving the video to minimize pre-match stress for her co-hosts—sparking group chat confusion and laughter.

6. AO Mixed Doubles & Personal Highlights

(39:05 – 43:13)

• Desirae’s Wild Mixed Doubles Ride
  Recap of Desirae Krawczyk’s dramatic match against Nick and Layla Kyrgios (39:05), including acing Nick—her “win” despite losing the match.

• The "Wooden Spoon" Phenomenon
  Desirae’s partners both won the titles in their respective events, while she lost in the first round of each—making her the "wooden spoon":

  • "I made history. I think, you know, it could be good or bad. But I made history." – Desirae (42:11)
  • Adds hilarious detail: her ex-boyfriend liked a viral "wooden spoon" tweet about her tournament.

7. Homebound: Off-Court Routines & Comfort Food

(43:17 – 53:41)

• Post-Slam Recovery
  The crew shares relatable tales of laziness, sleep deprivation, and, most importantly, comfort food:

  • Jess: "We had Chick-fil-A right when we landed, which was great...I just like to do nothing, to be honest." (43:41)
  • Madison: "I love sleeping in my own bed… I got a new mop and I was like, real jazzed about it, so I cleaned my whole house the other day." (45:37)

• Misconceptions: Athlete Diets
  They push back on the notion that pro athletes always eat clean:

  • "I personally don’t believe in diets...I will eat candy when I want to eat candy...Fans think we’re basically just, like, eating steamed broccoli and chicken breast every single day." – Madison (47:32)
  • Jessica sums it up: "Our only thing to look forward to is finding a good restaurant..." (49:01)
  • Sour Patch Kids are officially declared a "superfood" by Madison (51:10).

8. Tour Schedule & Player Wellbeing

(53:54 – 55:55)

• Rest, Burnout & Tournament Choices
  The challenges of the calendar, balancing rest and ranking points:
  • "I think you have to figure out what pockets you can afford to [take off]...don’t want to burn out in February." – Jess (55:14, 55:52)
  • Desirae is already in Abu Dhabi, while Jess and Maddie describe strategic scheduling to avoid overloading.

9. Fun & Fan Engagement

(56:02 – 61:10)

• "Who Am I?" Tennis Trivia
  Clue guessing for the tennis icons segment (Steffi Graf is the answer to Madison’s riddle at 57:08).

• Fan Q&A Highlights:

  • How was the pod started?
    "I think someone kind of said it as a joke...then Jess really locked in..." (58:44)
  • Rod Laver Arena tunnel experience
    Madison: "As you walk by [the images], it plays a couple seconds of when they won their slam..." (59:45)
    Jess: "This year there’s like that whole water video thing going on...It’s like waves and wind as you’re walking..." (60:26)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Cheesy Apple Pie Review
  "It might be better if it wasn’t melty cold cheese." – Madison (01:42)
• On Post-Match Meltdowns
  "There should be some safe spaces on site where...there are no cameras, but there is a hard surface that you could, in fact, smash a racket." – Madison (25:38)
• On Diet & Recovery:
  "I have dessert, like, three times a week...I talk about Sour Patch Kids so much that I got six boxes and I’m so excited." – Madison (50:34)
• On Camera Overexposure
  "If I want to have cameras following me all over the place, I’ll sign up for Big Brother...but it feels like [I already am]." – Madison (28:10)
• On Tennis’ Next Generation
  "We were all afraid after Rafa and Roger...that we weren’t gonna have anybody. And...it feels like Carlos has been around forever." – Jess (14:43)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Cheesy Apple Pie Bet: 00:40 – 03:34
• Unforced Errors & Winners: 03:34 – 08:07
• AO Champions Recap: 10:45 – 14:43
• Craig Tiley 3-of-5 Debate: 16:57 – 21:10
• AO Media & Privacy Discussion: 22:08 – 31:27
• Snack Haul Broadcasting Drama: 32:00 – 38:49
• Desirae’s Mixed Doubles Story & Wooden Spoon: 39:05 – 43:13
• Comfort Food & Real Diet Talk: 43:17 – 53:41
• Scheduling, Burnout: 53:54 – 55:55
• Who Am I & Fan Q&A: 56:02 – 61:10

For Full Effect...

Watch on YouTube for Madison’s legendary cheesy apple pie reaction (every eyebrow raise captured in 4K). The episode is a blend of tennis insights, pure honesty, and offbeat charm—a true courtside pass to what it means to live, lose, snack, and laugh on tour.

Contact/Fan Engagement:
Send questions to theplayersboxpod@gmail.com or via Instagram.