Australian Open 2026: Jessica Pegula dispatches defending champion Madison Keys in straight sets

Jessica Pegula is into the quarter-final of the Australian Open for the fourth time in her career with a commanding display over defending champion Madison Keys at the Rod Laver Arena on Monday (26 January).

In the all-US tennis affair, she dispatched Keys 6-3, 6-4.

Pegula started brightly, establishing an early and commanding lead against her compatriot. The sixth seed broke Keys in the second game to jump out to a 3-0 lead to put clear distance between the two.

Trailing 4-1, Keys pulled back two consecutive games to try to turn things around with aggressive returns.

Yet Pegula held her nerve in crucial moments to see out the set. The 31-year-old forced Keys into a number of errors, pulling the ninth seed across the court.

The second set began just as the first did, with Pegula taking control by breaking, then holding to surge ahead. While Keys pulled a game back, it was Pegula who continued to dominate on the court, staying calm in the face of huge serves to put herself on the brink of the last eight.

Keys fought her way back into the contest winning two consecutive games yet again, with the eighth game proving pivotal. It was a momentum-swinging battle she looked to be getting the better of, but for the composure of Pegula who came from behind to make it 5-3.

Despite a last-ditch effort from Keys to send things to a third set, Pegula’s calm carried through as she closed out in style.

“I’ve been playing really well, seeing the ball and hitting the ball really well this whole tournament, and I wanted to stay true to that,” Pegula said in her on-court interview.

“I just tried to, when I had the lead, stick with that as much as I could even though she got a little rhythm coming back.

“I just really tried to focus on what I needed to do and the patterns to look out for.”

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