Jessica Pegula has another wild beverage exchange after US Open semis loss

Jessica Pegula’s post-match press conference beverage choice has become as much of a topic as her play on the court over the years. 

The American tennis star, and daughter of Bills owners Terry and Kim Pegula, went viral in 2022 when she was drinking a Heineken after she lost in the quarterfinal to Iga Swiatek.

Last year, during the Miami Open, she swiped a tequila cocktail from Aryna Sabalenka while Sabalenka was on the Tennis Channel after defeating Pegula in the final of that tournament. 

So after Pegula had fallen in straight sets to Sabalenka in the semifinal on Thursday at the U.S. Open, there was a natural curiosity about what the Upstate New York native was drinking. 

Jessica Pegula of the US waves to fans after being defeated by Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus during their semifinals match in Arthur Ashe Stadium during the US Open Tennis Championship at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Queens, New York, on Thursday, Sept. 10, 2026. JASON SZENES FOR NEW YORK POST

“I’m always at a U.S. Open press conference trying to pee for doping, but it’s just espresso, decaf espresso,” she said with a small smile while holding up the cup.

“Not tequila?” the reporter followed up with. 

“No, I wish,” Pegula joked. “Nobody offered to bring any. It’s coffee this year. Yeah, it’s just another night. Another loss and another trying to go to the bathroom.”

Pegula, the No. 3 seed in this year’s tournament in Flushing Meadows, remained in relatively good spirits after Sabalenka dispatched her 7-5, 6-2 under the lights at Arthur Ashe Stadium. 

The American hung in there for part of the first set, with things even 4-4 roughly 25 minutes into the match, before Sabalenka turned it up a notch and closed out the set. 

Sabalenka seemed to hit cruise control during the second set. 

“I’m honestly not that upset, to be honest, because I don’t really think there was much I could have done today,” Pegula said after the match. “That was pretty much our attitude after the match, because like I said, she played an insanely high level, I think probably one of her better matches this year, for sure. 

“That was it. It didn’t feel like there was a lot — I, of course, tried to stick around to see if the level would go off, but it seemed like it just got better as the match went on.”