There are no definitive statistics available, but …
There is a very good chance Monday’s fourth-round match between Jessica Pegula and Madison Keys will break new ground for the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz -- the first to be played between podcast co-hosts.
“It's a very niche headline,” Keys said, laughing.
The "Players Box" premiered at last year’s US Open, hosted by Pegula, Keys and two of their American compatriots, Jennifer Brady and Desirae Krawczyk. It details their lives in professional tennis. They’ve produced 23 episodes and have nearly 8,000 subscribers.
“I honestly didn't really realize it until last round that if we both win, we would play each other,” Pegula said Saturday. “Yeah, maybe it will help the numbers on the pod. We'll see what kind of segments we can come up with. It could be like a trash talk segment before we play.”
Keys and Pegula are among five Americans in the fourth round, joining Amanda Anisimova, Coco Gauff and Iva Jovic.
Monday’s loaded lineup features all four of the top seeds from the bottom half of the draw: No. 2 Iga Swiatek, No. 4 Amanda Anisimova, No. 6 Pegula and No. 9 Madison Keys.
Here’s a breakdown:
No. 2 Iga Swiatek vs. qualifier Maddison Inglis
Head-to-head: 1-0, Swiatek, five years ago in Adelaide, 6-1, 6-3
This was expected to be a showdown between two multi-Grand Slam champions, but Naomi Osaka, citing a left abdominal injury, granted Inglis a walkover. Instead, it’s an unexpected Maddison, a 28-year-old Aussie qualifier in her seventh major main draw and through to the fourth round for the first time.
Swiatek doesn’t remember much of their only previous match.
“It's not often I play someone I don't really know that much, that well,” Swiatek said on Saturday. “She has a great run, and for sure she didn't play today, so she's going to be fresh. I've got to, yeah, go for it.”
Here’s yet another Swiatek contextual statistic that is eye-opening: At 24, she’s looking to become the youngest woman to reach six consecutive Grand Slam quarterfinals since Serena Williams (2002-03). That’s a testament to her elite consistency. Aryna Sabalenka (14) is the only woman with more major quarters than Swiatek (13) this decade.
How unlikely is Inglis’ presence here? For starters, she’s ranked No. 168. Inglis is the first Aussie qualifier to reach the fourth round … since Amanda Tobin Dingwall in 1985. Inglis has won two matches after losing her previous 11 at the WTA Tour main-draw level -- incredibly, her last victory came two years ago at the Australian Open.
The crowd will be pulling hard for another upset.
No. 4 Amanda Anisimova vs. Wang Xinyu
Head-to-head: 0-0
Anisimova finds herself on the threshold of a best-career run in Melbourne. She’s never made the quarterfinals here and is feeling the positive effects of her rigorous offseason conditioning work.
The biggest initiative was squeezing a little more quickness out of her 5-foot-11 (1.8 meters) frame.
“We've been doing a lot of movement drills here after all of my trainings,” Anisimova told reporters. “Actually, I like them because I know that's an area I really want to improve in. They're tough, but you really feel good afterwards.”
Anisimova has worked her way efficiently through the draw, dropping only five games in each of her three matches, most recently defeating Peyton Stearns 6-1, 6-4.
In the past she’s struggled with the fast conditions at Melbourne Park, but Wang has settled in nicely. Wang scored a 7-5, 6-4 win over No. 13 seed Linda Noskova in the third round, equaling her best career result in a Grand Slam; she reached the fourth round at the 2023 US Open and 2024 Wimbledon.
The 24-year-old from China was a finalist earlier this month in Auckland and has won eight of this year’s 10 matches.
“Amanda, I think she's been playing really well,” Wang said. “Making to finals last year, and also, I've seen her play here, few games here and there. Yeah, I kind of know what to expect.”
No. 5 Elena Rybakina vs. No. 21 Elise Mertens
Head-to-head: 6-1, Rybakina; Mertens’ only win came five years ago in Madrid
There’s a lot at stake in this match for both players.
Hard to believe but Rybakina, the WTA Finals champion last fall, hasn’t been to a major quarterfinal since winning Wimbledon in 2024. This would be her seventh career quarterfinal.
Rybakina was a 6-2, 6-3 winner over Tereza Valentova, while Mertens defeated qualifier Nikola Bartunkova 6-0, 6-4.
For Mertens, who took the doubles title in Riyadh with Veronika Kudermetova, the fourth round offers both good news and bad. This is Mertens’ 16th fourth round in a major since the 2018 Australian Open -- a number that only Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff have surpassed in that time.
The bad news? Mertens is 3-12 in those matches. She’s 0-for-8 since beating Sofia Kenin at the 2020 US Open. Coming in though, Mertens has won six of seven matches.
No. 6 Jessica Pegula vs. No. 9 Madison Keys
Head-to-head: 2-1, Keys, who took their most recent meeting 6-3, 4-6, 6-1 in last year’s Adelaide final
Keys is the defending champion here and, after a relatively slow start in Brisbane and Adelaide where she went 3-2, she’s again starting to look dialed in. Keys was a 6-3, 6-3 winner over Karolina Pliskova.
Mining the history of this one is a bit of a forensic adventure:
· Pegula has won 12 of her last 13 meetings against fellow Americans.
· Keys has won six of her seven Australian Open meetings against players from the United States.
· Keys lost her last seven matches against Top 10 opponents.
All three things can be -- and are -- true.
“I kind of need to figure out some things that I need to do differently against her, because I've lost the last couple times,” said Pegula after defeating Oksana Selekhmeteva 6-3, 6-2. “She's the type of player, when she's on, she can beat anybody. I'm just going to have to use some of the tools I think that I've gotten better at, and hopefully they work.”
Being podcast buddies, according to Keys, won’t affect the outcome.
“I want to win, so I kind of just remember that,” Keys said, smiling. “We could literally be friends and laughing 'til the moment we walk on the court. Then in that moment we both want to win and we both are competitors.
“The moment it's over, you're back to being friends.”
11:30 a.m. local; 7:30 p.m. ET (Sunday)-- Jessica Pegula (USA) [6] vs Madison Keys (USA) [9]
Not before 2 p.m. local; 10 p.m. ET (Sunday)-- Lorenzo Musetti (ITA) [5] vs Taylor Fritz (USA) [9]
Not before 4 p.m. local; midnight ET (Monday)-- Elena Rybakina (KAZ) [5] vs Elise Mertens (BEL) [21]
Not before 6 p.m. local; 2 a.m. ET (Monday)-- Luciano Darderi (ITA) [22] vs Jannik Sinner (ITA) [2]
Night Session – 7 p.m. local; 3 a.m. ET (Monday)-- Maddison Inglis (AUS) vs Iga Swiatek (POL) [2]-- Ben Shelton (USA) [8] vs Casper Ruud (NOR) [12]
11:30 a.m. local; 7:30 p.m. ET (Sunday)-- James McCabe (AUS) vs Li Tu (AUS)
Not before 1:30 p.m. local; 9:30 p.m. ET (Sunday)-- Hanyu Guo (CHN) / Kristina Mladenovic (FRA) [16] vs Kimberly Birrell (AUS) / Talia Gibson (AUS)
Not before 3 p.m. local; 11 p.m. ET (Sunday)-- Leylah Fernandez (CAN) / Nick Kyrgios (AUS) vs Anna Danilina (KAZ) / JJ Tracy (USA)
Not before 4:30 p.m. local; 12:30 a.m. ET (Monday)-- Maya Joint (AUS) / Matthew Romios (AUS) vs Aleksandra Krunic (SRB) / Mate Pavic (CRO) [5]
11 a.m. local; 7 p.m. ET (Sunday)-- Asia Muhammad (USA) / Erin Routliffe (NZL) [6] vs Ena Shibahara (JPN) / Vera Zvonareva
Not before 1 p.m. local; 9 p.m. ET (Sunday)-- Amanda Anisimova (USA) [4] vs Wang Xinyu (CHN)
Not before 3 p.m. local; 11 p.m. ET (Sunday)-- Anna Danilina (KAZ) / Petr Nouza (CZE) vs Su-Wei Hsieh (TPE) / Jelena Ostapenko (LAT) [3]
Not before 5 p.m. local; 1 a.m. ET (Monday)-- Luciano Grimaldo (ITA) vs Mateo Gribaldi (ITA)
11 a.m. local; 7 p.m. ET (Sunday)-- Orlando Luz (BRA) / Rafael Matos (BRA) vs Yuki Bhambri (IND) / Andre Goransson (SWE) [10]
Not before 1 p.m. local; 9 p.m. ET (Sunday)-- Sofia Kenin (USA) / Laura Siegemund (GER) [13] vs Ryo Tabata (JPN) / Austin Krajicek (USA)
Not before 3 p.m. local; 11 p.m. ET (Sunday)-- Henry Patten (GBR) / Harri Heliovaara (FIN) [2] vs Aaron Gabet (FRA) / Thilo Behrmann (AUT)
10 a.m. local; 6 p.m. ET (Sunday)-- Kai Thompson (AUS) vs Cooper Kose (AUS)
Not before 1 p.m. local; 9 p.m. ET (Sunday)-- Matteo Gribaldi (ITA) vs Patrick Rikl (CZE)
Not before 3 p.m. local; 11 p.m. ET (Sunday)-- Aleksander Blus (POL) vs Valentin Gonzalez-Galino (ESP)
11 a.m. local; 7 p.m. ET (Sunday)-- Alena Kovackova (CZE) [1] vs Tori Russell (USA)
Not before 1 p.m. local; 9 p.m. ET (Sunday)-- Marcelo Arevalo (ESA) / Mate Pavic (CRO) [4] vs Austin Krajicek (USA) / Nikola Mektic (CRO) [16]
Not before 3 p.m. local; 11 p.m. ET (Sunday)-- Shuai Zhang (CHN) / Tim Puetz (GER) [6] vs Daisuke Arai (JPN) / Daniel Rodrigues (BRA)
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