Mar 29, 2025; Miami, FL, USA; Aryna Sabalenka (R) jokes with Jessica Pegula (USA)(L) during her speech in the trophy presentation ceremony after their women's singles championship of the Miami Open at Hard Rock Stadium.

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‘Enough With This Girl’ – Jessica Pegula Debriefs Hilarious ‘Marg-Aryna’ Exchange With Aryna Sabalenka

The American stole Sabalenka’s ‘Marg-Aryna’ after conceding the Miami Open title to her.

World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka defeated Jessica Pegula in straight sets to win her first Miami Open crown last week. It was a thrilling encounter that will be remembered for the post-match timeline of events. In one of the moments of the season so far, Pegula gatecrashed Sabalenka’s interview and stole her ‘Marg-Aryna’ after the final.

There is no doubt that Sabalenka has been the poster girl of the WTA for sometime now. The 26-year-old gave us some phenomenal moments off the court at the Miami Open this year, including a glimpse of her goddaughter. Cooling off and recovering from the intense final with a margarita alongside Martina Navratilova and Prakash Amritraj, it was Pegula who stole the drink and had the last laugh (or the last sip rather).

Despite starting the match on a high note, 31-year-old Pegula couldn’t sustain the level. The World No. 1 kept coming at her, and there was no coming back after the American lost the opener 7-5. This was the third straight final where Sabalenka denied Pegula the title in their head-to-head, improving her record to 7-2 against the US Open finalist.

Jessica Pegula Makes Cheeky Confession on Stealing Aryna Sabalenka’s Drink at Miami Open

While Sabalenka is currently on a mini sabbatical, Pegula is competing at the WTA Charleston Open to kick start her clay court season. After winning her Round of 32 encounter in straight sets, she sat down to recall the iconic moment that left the tennis world in splits. “I had to take something from her. She’s taken three first place trophies from me,” said the American No. 3 with a bright smile on her face.

Pegula, whom Aryna claimed to love due to her infectious personality, displayed great sporting humour after the tough Miami loss. “Yeah it was funny. I saw her [Sabalenka] up there and I’ve seen her up there with it before, and I was like okay you know what? Enough with this girl drinking her margaritas, just winning every match, like come on!”

She went on to reiterate that she enjoyed the light-hearted moment, since Aryna is also someone who is fun and outgoing like her.

Serena Williams’ Former Coach Believes Pegula is the Real American No. 1 and 2025 Grand Slam Winner

Jessica Pegula’s performance to beat the in-form Emma Raducanu in the Miami Open quarterfinal was some of the best tennis she had produced in a while. After the match, Serena Williams’ ex-coach Rick Macci lauded ‘Jess’ for her rock-solid ball striking, and made a bold claim about the potential that lies ahead.

“The Buffalo Blaster could grab a SLAM this year,” predicted the 70-year-old tennis coach. And after Pegula’s Miami Open runner-up finish, he had more words of praise for her. “At 31 the Buffalo Blaster is really the American Master ranked No. 3 on the planet because her mind and strokes are like granite,” he remarked before emphasising that it’s about where you finish and not where you start.

Age 31 the Buffalo Blaster is really the American Master ranked number 3 on the Planet because her mind and strokes are like Granite. Has been ranked number 1 doubles and understanding of the court gives others troubles. Not where you start it is where you finish. @JessicaPEG
— Rick Macci (@RickMacci) April 1, 2025

Can top seed Jessica Pegula win the WTA Charleston Open 2025 and give herself a much needed boost for the clay court season that lies ahead? We will have all the answers soon.

Aryna Sabalenka

Charleston Open

Jessica Pegula

Miami Open

Miami Open Final

Tennis

WTA

Sankalp Harikrishnan

A passionate sports fan through and through, I am currently pursuing my MA in Global Sports Journalism. I specialise in tennis and football writing at The Playoffs News, and I have prior experience working at EssentiallySports and Sportskeeda. Born and raised in Bengaluru, India, sport was my safe space right from my childhood. After trying my hand at multiple sports and representing my educational institutions in cricket, badminton and table tennis, I found sports media to be my calling.