This year’s edition of the Australian Open will be remembered for its controversial moments as much as the incredible performances. From Danielle Collins to Daniil Medvedev, fans witnessed bizarre and unexpected reactions from renowned tennis pros. Recalling them all, American star and World No.6 Jessica Pegula has now reacted to such viral instances. So what’s her favorite one? Well, she found it hard to pick the best among so many!

Jessica Pegula’s Australian Open journey came to a close last week. The 30-year-old lost to Serbia’s Olga Danilovic in the third round of the Major down under, who eventually beat her 7-6(3), 6-1. While Pegula’s run may have ended, she’s still not over the most viral moments from the Major. Taking to her Instagram, she put up a story featuring the top four controversial moments compiled by Tennis Channel’s Instagram account. It had her friend and compatriot Danielle Collins’ now famous kiss-and-pat moment – the one where she mocked the crowd after defeating local player Destanee Aiava in the second round at KIA Arena.

And there was Daniil Medvedev‘s brutal racket-smashing session too. The moment came during his first-round match against Kasidit Samrej. The latter made him go all out on the net’s GoPro camera due to frustration when he was 3-5 behind in the final set. But there was more to go in the controversy roundup! One more featured instance was when New Zealand’s Erin Routliffe burst into anger over the lack of ‘let’ machines. Alexander Zverev – the last one – found himself in a similar position too! The German was involved in an unwanted situation during the QF round against Tommy Paul. In a bizarre turn of events, a feather left him bamboozled after the chair umpire called ‘let’ when he was returning a shot from Paul. Out of all these, it was tough for Pegula to choose the best one. Reflecting back, the American finally conceded and wrote, “So many good moments 😂” in her IG story, dated January 25.

Speaking more of the viral moments, then Pegula had even personally reacted to one of them. Any guesses? Well, she shared her thoughts on Danielle Collins’ behavior towards the fans in stands after winning the contest against local favorite Aiava. So what did Pegula say about her compatriot’s on-court antics?

Jessica Pegula backs Danielle Collins’ Australian Open act

For the unversed, Danielle Collins witnessed a lot of booing and jeering from the crowd when she played 24-year-old Aussie Destanee Aiava. Before the World No.11 ultimately won the match, she was involved in multiple interactions with the fans; of course, none of them were in great spirit. Initially, when she won the first set, she was seen blowing a kiss to the crowd from her seat during the changeover. Then, she yelled at a spectator saying “Shut up” before serving in the second set.

Once the match was over and Aiava lost, fans’ reaction towards Collins at the KIA Arena took a turn for the worse. To counter them, Collins then used her hand and cupped it to her ear while blowing kisses yet again. Being the winner, she taunted them saying “And now what?” and “How ’bout that!” In another response to the crowd, she gave a flying kiss to spectators while patting her backside. During the on-court interview, while getting booed constantly, she snatched the mic and mocked the crowd saying “Thank you guys, love ya.” After this viral moment, Collins’ compatriots were asked to comment.

Initially Coco Gauff backed her saying, “Danielle is going to be Danielle, and there is no one changing her, and she doesn’t care either. That’s something I can respect, someone who knows who they are. Just being authentically herself. If you know Danielle Collins, you know exactly what I’m talking about.” Agreeing with Gauff’s remarks, Pegula later said in an interview, “I guess Coco (Gauff) said it best, Danielle’s going to be Danielle. I think that’s the perfect way to put it.” Continuing further, she added, “I appreciate that she’s honest and she is who she is and I think it’s honestly great for the sport.”

What was your favorite dramatic moment from 2025 Australian Open? Was it the one featuring Collins or the one with upset Medvedev? Or was it something else entirely? Let us know in the comments below!