Jessica Pegula and Madison Keys are two of the most popular players on tour and have enjoyed stellar seasons in 2025.
Pegula, a runner-up at last year’s US Open, has won three tour-level titles in 2025 and is the only player in the women’s game to have done so on three different surfaces.
Her fellow American, Keys, won her maiden Grand Slam title this year, stunning Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka in back-to-back matches to seal victory in Melbourne.
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The pair faced off in a WTA final right before the Australian Open began, battling it out for the title in Adelaide.
Pegula and Keys have now revealed what they were messaging each other about on the morning of the final.
Jessica Pegula and Madison Keys were trying to sort flights to Melbourne right before Adelaide final
During the latest episode of ‘The Player’s Box Podcast’, Pegula and Keys recalled a discussion they had before the Adelaide International final.
“Jess [Pegula] and I played in the finals of Adelaide this year, and we finished the match. We were both trying to rush to get to Melbourne and figure things out,” said Keys.
“Before the match, we were texting the morning of our final. ‘Hey, should we just fly together to Melbourne? We can just split it, we’ll finish our match, and what time do you think we can get to the airport?”
Pegula explained how concerned she was about not making it to Melbourne in time.
Photo by MICHAEL ERREY/AFP via Getty Images
“Obviously, I know we’re going to go out there and compete; we were trying to get to Melbourne, there were no flights,” she said.
“I played Monday, so I had one day before the Australian Open, and we were trying to decide if we should fly private and just split it with our teams.
“It was just a conversation that needed to happen. We had no other option.”
Keys was victorious in the Adelaide final against Pegula and received a lengthy message from the world number four after the match.
“Jess sent me the longest, nicest message, saying you played unreal today, you could genuinely win the Australian Open,” said Keys.
“I was like, thank you!”
Pegula got her prediction spot on, as Keys won her second title of the year shortly after, extending her winning streak to 12 matches.
Madison Keys’ winning streak2025 ASB Classic QF [LOSS] v Clara Tauson 1. 2025 Adelaide International 1R [WIN] v Beatriz Haddad Maia2. 2025 Adelaide International 2R [WIN] v Jelena Ostapenko3. 2025 Adelaide International QF [WIN] v Daria Kasatkina4. 2025 Adelaide International SF [WIN] v Liudmila Samsonova5. 2025 Adelaide International F [WIN] v Jessica Pegula6. 2025 Australian Open 1R [WIN] v Ann Li7. 2025 Australian Open 2R [WIN] v Elena-Gabriela Ruse8. 2025 Australian Open 3R [WIN] v Danielle Collins9. 2025 Australian Open 4R [WIN] v Elena Rybakina10. 2025 Australian Open QF [WIN] v Elina Svitolina11. 2025 Australian Open SF [WIN] v Iga Swiatek12. 2025 Australian Open F [WIN] v Aryna Sabalenka13. 2025 Indian Wells 2R [WIN] v Anastasia Potapova14. 2025 Indian Wells 3R [WIN] v Elise Mertens15. 2025 Indian Wells 4R [WIN] v Donna Vekic16. 2025 Indian Wells QF [WIN] v Belinda Bencic2025 Indian Wells SF [LOSS] v Aryna Sabalenka
The 30-year-old hasn’t enjoyed too much success recently, however, as Keys lost in the first round of the US Open.
Despite the result, Keys still looks set to qualify for the WTA Finals for just the second time in her career.
Why Madison Keys will qualify for the 2025 WTA Finals
The American star currently sits fifth in the ‘Live WTA Race’, one place above her close friend and countrywoman, Pegula.
RankNameCountryPointsStatus1Aryna SabalenkaBelarus9,610Qualified2Iga SwiatekPoland 7,533Qualified3Coco GauffUSA5,184Currently qualifying4Amanda AnisimovaUSA4,908Currently qualifying5Madison KeysUSA4,450Currently qualifying6Jessica PegulaUSA4,209Currently qualifying7Mirra AndreevaRussia4,189Currently qualifying8Elena RybakinaKazakhstan3,751Currently qualifying9Jasmine PaoliniItaly3,526Not currently qualifying10Ekaterina AlexandrovaRussia2,871Not currently qualifyingTop ten players in the ‘Live WTA Race’
She sits in a comfortable position, but doesn’t actually need to be ranked in the top eight to qualify.
The WTA rule book states that any player ranked between ninth and 20th who has won a Grand Slam title within the year gains direct entry into the event.
With a 2,780 point gap separating her and 20th placed Linda Noskova, the likelihood is that we will see Keys line up in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, at the end of the year.
The 2025 WTA Finals are scheduled to begin on Saturday, November 1.