Jessica Pegula didn’t just punch her ticket to the next round of the Australian Open with a straight-sets win over Madison Keys-she also dodged what she called a “worse fate” than losing the match: wearing a Kansas City Chiefs jersey.
Pegula took down Keys 6-3, 6-4 in a matchup that pitted two close friends-and podcast co-hosts-against each other on one of tennis’ biggest stages. But there was more than just a semifinal berth on the line. Thanks to a lighthearted bet between the two, the loser would have to pay up in a very specific, very personal way.
The stakes? If Pegula lost, she’d have to wear a Chiefs jersey.
Not just any jersey, either-it would’ve featured the names of Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift on the back. For Pegula, whose family owns the Buffalo Bills, that was a tough pill to swallow.
The Chiefs have eliminated the Bills from the playoffs four times in the last six years, and the rivalry still stings.
“My family owns the Buffalo Bills,” Pegula said after the match. “They’ve owned it, and I have to sit there and wear this.
And then there’s going to be pictures, and then people are gonna be like, ‘Jess clearly lost a bet,’ and I’m gonna have to suffer. Mine is definitely worse.”
Keys, the defending Australian Open champion, knew exactly what she was doing when she proposed the bet. On their Players Box podcast, she admitted she was looking for the most painful (yet playful) form of payback after Pegula clowned her for her reaction to a Pegula family food tradition: cheddar cheese melted on apple pie.
“Cheese on apple pie is pretty brutal,” Keys said on the podcast. So naturally, the loser of the match would have to try it.
“When you came after me for the apple pie, I was like, ‘What’s the worst thing that I could possibly think for Jess for retaliation?’” Keys said.
So there it was: either Pegula rocks a Chiefs jersey that would make any Bills fan cringe, or Keys takes a bite of cheesy apple pie. Pegula held serve-literally and figuratively-and avoided the jersey. After the match, she made her victory crystal clear by writing “No Chiefs jersey today” on the courtside camera.
In her on-court interview, Pegula admitted the bet gave her a little extra motivation. And while the crowd didn’t exactly roar at the idea of microwaved cheddar on apple pie, the mention of Kelce and Swift got a solid cheer.
“She wanted me to wear a Kelce/Taylor Swift Chiefs jersey,” Pegula said, laughing. “So you know, honestly, had a lot of motivation today not to wear that.”
Keys, meanwhile, will now have to hold up her end of the deal. Apple pie with melted cheddar, coming right up.
It’s not every day a Grand Slam match ends with a food challenge and a football rivalry, but this one did. And as Pegula moves forward in the tournament, she does so with a win on the court-and a win for Bills Mafia pride.