After losing the first match at the Eisenhower Cup, Jessica Pegula made it clear that she is done teaming up with Tommy Paul. The World No. 5 explained exactly what led to her decision, revealing that the World No. 23 was “distraught” before the match after losing multiple tiebreak tournaments in the first round.
Now that the Players Box Podcast shared the clip on their Instagram account, it caught Paul’s attention, prompting him to react and sparking a fun conversation in the comment section.
Tommy Paul Reacts to Jessica Pegula Being Done Teaming With Him
Pegula and Paul entered the Eisenhower Cup together against a star-studded lineup, with Taylor Fritz and Elena Rybakina being the defending champions. The WTA World No. 5 had been in good form, following her semifinal runs at seven consecutive tournaments, which included the WTA 1000 title at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
Paul, however, had been struggling in the recent tournaments, despite a semifinal finish at the Adelaide International and the runner-up finish at Delray Beach against Sebastian Korda. Coming freshly off the 2026 MGM Slam, a $1 million exhibition tiebreak tournament, Paul was “distraught,” as Pegula mentioned, following his 10-3 loss to Fritz.
The all-American pair stepped foot on the court for their first-round match against Alexander Bublik and Mirra Andreeva, and they ended up losing 11-9. Pegula then joked about never teaming up with Paul again on the Players’ Box Podcast, even explaining her decision.
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When the official Players Box account posted this clip on Instagram, the World No. 23 reacted to it, dropping a comment, “Did I just get dumped?!” sparking a fun conversation.
Pegula immediately replied, writing, “Sorry @tommypaull I think you should go back with @madisonkeys.”
Keys, joining the conversation, wrote, “@tommypaull sorry @jpegula dumped you but maybe we can win it all next year? Or at least a match.”
This playful banter between the top American stars shows the bond they share off the court, a bond defined by close friendship. When Pegula teamed up with Jack Draper at the US Open mixed doubles tournament, they reached the semifinals, where they lost to the third-seeded duo of Iga Świątek and Casper Ruud.
On the singles side, Pegula started her campaign in the second round against Croatian Donna Vekić, securing a three-set win. She then took on the Latvian star Jeļena Ostapenko in the third-round match, where she mounted a comeback to secure a 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 win.
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She then secured a straight-sets win over the 12th seed, Belinda Bencic, in the fourth round to secure herself another quarterfinal spot. However, her streak of reaching the semifinals at seven consecutive tournaments came to an end in Indian Wells when she locked horns with the third seed, Rybakina.
The Kazakh Champion dominated the match from the beginning, securing a 6-1, 7-6(4) win and finishing as the runner-up at the tournament. Pegula now enters the 2026 Miami Open as the fifth seed, receiving a bye in the first round, and she will either face the wildcard Venus Williams or the British star Francesca Jones in the second-round match.
