Jessica Pegula endorses swipe at critics of women’s tennis after Madison Keys beats Iga Swiatek in ‘epic’ Australian Open SF
Jessica Pegula has reignited the ongoing debate about the criticisms surrounding women’s tennis following an electrifying 2025 Australian Open semifinal clash between Madison Keys and Iga Swiatek. Pegula echoed a sentiment questioning the validity of such critiques when high-quality matches like Keys’ stunning performance are on full display.
Madison Keys, the 19th seed, has been in sensational form throughout the 2025 Australian Open, making her way to her first final at Melbourne Park. In the semifinals, she staged an impressive comeback, defeating World No. 2 Iga Swiatek 5-7, 6-1, 7-6(8) to secure her spot in the final. This victory marked yet another milestone in her remarkable tournament run, where she previously overcame top players like tenth seed Danielle Collins, sixth seed Elena Rybakina, 28th seed Elina Svitolina, and now Swiatek.
Following the semifinal, a post on social media questioned how critics of women’s tennis could overlook such an exceptional match, stating, “When an epic women’s match like that happens, do the people who say women’s tennis isn’t good just, like… pretend it didn’t happen?” Pegula reshared the post, adding a speaking head emoji, symbolizing her agreement and support for the sentiment.
Pegula’s own Australian Open journey ended earlier than expected when she was defeated in the third round by World No. 55 Olga Danilovic in straight sets.
Following Keys’ thrilling semifinal victory, the American tennis community rallied behind her, with stars like Coco Gauff, Ben Shelton, and Pegula herself celebrating her achievement. Gauff, who was eliminated by Paula Badosa in the quarterfinals, praised Keys on Instagram with the message, “goo @madisonkeys.” Ben Shelton, ahead of his own semifinal clash with Jannik Sinner, also congratulated Keys, writing, “Unreal @madisonkeys.. Finalsssss.” Pegula reacted with two emojis, “🥲🥰,” showing her joy for her compatriot.
Tennis legend Andre Agassi and former coach Brad Gilbert also weighed in, with Gilbert highlighting the intensity of the semifinal, tweeting, “Amazing effort from Madison Ave fighting back late in 3rd set to take out Iga in super breaker… lots of great drama in final set and crowd was absolutely rocking.”
Keys now faces defending champion Aryna Sabalenka in the final on January 24, 2025. This will be their sixth meeting on the WTA Tour, with Sabalenka leading the head-to-head 4-1. Their most recent encounter was at the 2024 China Open, where Sabalenka secured a straight-sets victory.
