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Pegula ends Keys' Australian Open title defence
John Salvado, AAP •  January 26th, 2026 3:35 pm
Jessica Pegula had Madison Keys' measure in their round of 16 clash at Melbourne Park | Photo: Rob Prezioso/AAP
Jessica Pegula has extended her recent domination of fellow Americans, ending Madison Keys' Australian Open title defence with a straight-sets win in the fourth round at Melbourne Park.
Pegula jumped out of the blocks on Rod Laver Arena and raced through the first set in 31 minutes.
A US Open runner-up in 2024, the sixth-seeded Pegula then went up a double-break at 4-1 in the second set on Monday before Keys staged a mini-revival.
But it was too little too late, with Pegula clinching the 6-3 6-4 victory on her first match point to set up a quarter-final encounter with either another American, No. 4 seed Amanda Anisimova, or China's Wang Xinyu.
Pegula has now won 13 of her past 14 matches against her countrywomen.
"I've been playing really well, seeing the ball, hitting the ball really well this whole tournament, and I wanted to stay true to that," said the 31-year-old.
"Then just lean into a couple things that I felt like she she would do, and I felt like I came out doing it pretty well.
Madison Keys' Australian Open title defence ended in the fourth round | Photo: Rob Prezioso/AAP
"When I had the lead I tried to stick with that as much as I could.
"Even when she got a little rhythm back, I just really tried to focus on what I needed to do and patterns to look out for."
The 30-year-old Keys had won her previous 10 matches at Melbourne Park, including her title run last year, which was capped by an upset victory over two-time defending champion Aryna Sabalenka, in the final.
That was the last time Keys had beaten a top-10 opponent and she was unable to snap that streak on Monday.
The No. 9 seed was well below her best against Pegula, losing the unforced errors count 28-13, despite hitting nearly twice as many winners.
Pegula is through to the last eight for the fourth time at Melbourne Park but she has never gone further than that.
