Pegula recently revealed how Taylor Fritz, Ben Shelton, and Tommy Paul’s blunt remarks during the Eisenhower Cup ended up hyping youngster Learner Tien. The annual one-night ‘Tie Break Tens’ event at Indian Wells saw Tien team up with Amanda Anisimova, while Fritz partnered with Elena Rybakina, Shelton paired with Emma Navarro, and Pegula joined forces with Paul.
Jessica Pegula Reveals How Taylor Fritz, Tommy Paul, and Ben Shelton’s Blunt Takes ‘Gassed Up’ Learner Tien
Pegula, currently competing at the 2026 BNP Paribas Open, has advanced to the fourth round after defeating Donna Vekić and Jeļena Ostapenko, and now awaits 12th seed Belinda Bencic. Off the court, she continues to co-host the Player’s Box podcast with Madison Keys, Jennifer Brady, and Desirae Krawczyk.
While discussing a range of topics in the latest episode, Pegula also reflected on her experiences at the Eisenhower Cup, including one moment involving Taylor Fritz, Ben Shelton, and Tommy Paul’s unfiltered thoughts on Learner Tien.
The American explained that during the Eisenhower Cup, Fritz, Shelton, and Paul repeatedly praised Tien’s talent. Contrary to assumptions that they were trash-talking, the players were actually hyping Tien up.
“It’s cool to say. But I have never really seen Learner (Tien) in person, and he is really very good at tennis. All the guys were hyping him up. They were like, ‘Dude, Learner is so good. He is so good at tennis! He is legit. He is the real deal.’ So it’s funny if someone asked me afterwards, ‘Oh, the guys are just talking shit the whole time.’ And I’m like, ‘No, they are gassing people up the entire time,” she said.Â
The 32-year-old admitted that Shelon, Paul, and Fritz were a funny group to be around during the Eisenhower Cup.
“Like Ben, Tommy, Taylor even, they are just talking about how good everybody is, which I think people probably don’t realize. So it’s quite funny. They are definitely a funny group to be around. And then there was Bublik, Felix, Leylah was there, Iga, Casper, I think Matteo, Jasmine. It was cool. It was a full stadium, so that’s always fun,” she added.
Tien has emerged as one of the fastest-rising American talents on tour. The youngster has enjoyed a string of deep runs this season, reaching the Australian Open quarterfinals, the Delray Beach semifinals, and now the last eight at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells. He has impressed at the Tennis Paradise, getting past higher-ranked opponents in Ben Shelton and Alejandro Davidovich Fokina to reach the last eight.
Meanwhile, concerns continue to mount for Taylor Fritz, who suffered a shock third-round exit to Alex Michelsen. Tommy Paul also fell in the same round, losing to João Fonseca. Tien, who finished as a finalist at the Eisenhower Cup, will face either João Fonseca or Jannik Sinner in the quarterfinals, with PFSN’s exclusive simulator heavily favoring Sinner with an 89% chance of victory.
