In Wimbledon 1996, Steffi Graf faced Kimiko Date in the semifinals. As Graf was preparing to serve, a voice rang out from the crowd: “Steffi, will you marry me?” She smiled, and after a pause, she responded: “How much money do you have?” The crowd erupted in laughter, and the exchange became folklore. But three decades on, the question keeps finding new recipients, with Jessica Pegula being the latest addition. 

During her round of 16 win over Katerina Siniakova at the Berlin Open on Wednesday, a fan shouted those four words mid-match. Pegula didn’t respond as her laugh was an answer enough. However, the moment made for a great laugh for both the crowd and her opponent, Siniakova. Although the answer was never really in doubt. 

Pegula is already married, a little detail the lovesick fan might have forgotten about. In October 2021, Pegula married Taylor Gahagen at the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina, where they were joined by many of their WTA peers.

Gahagen, who worked for Pegula Sports and Entertainment for nearly a decade and now serves as a managing partner at two investment firms, has been a constant presence in her player box throughout her career. The two have been together since 2015 and share a deep love of dogs. They co-founded A Lending Paw, a charity focused on re-homing rescue dogs as service animals. 

The American beat Siniakova 6-2, 6-4 in an hour and 45 minutes to reach the Berlin quarterfinals, moving to a 28-6 record for 2026 that includes two WTA titles in Dubai and Charleston. She is the third seed in Berlin, one of the in-form players on the tour right before Wimbledon, and the type of player a fan in the stands would be wise to admire from a distance. 

Tennis has a knack for these moments, and the sport’s biggest names have all had their turn. During his third-round win over Tomas Machac at the 2025 Australian Open, a crowd member who began heckling Djokovic from the sidelines started to get louder as the match went on. The Serbian, visibly irritated during the match, spoke directly to his tormenter post-match in an on-court interview. “Sorry, buddy, I already have a wife. But we can grab a drink. Although from what I see, maybe you’ve already had a few,” he said. The crowd roared. 

Djokovic’s ability to give the right response at the right time has never been underestimated, and the Melbourne drunk fan was one of the cases. At a 2018 US Open practice session, a young boy had shouted a proposal at Djokovic from the stands. The Serbian’s response there was rather more wholesome: he waved the kid down onto the court, handed him a racket, and hit balls with him for several minutes. All proposals do not have the same conclusion. 

In February 2022, it was Raducanu’s turn at the Royal Albert Hall following her US Open win only a few months ago. Child prodigy Leo Gomez-Franqueira, the youngest member of Mensa, yelled, “Emma, will you marry me?” from the stands during an exhibition match. Mid-serve, Raducanu broke out a smile, and the crowd melted. The video went viral with over a million views across social media. It was one of the cutest incarnations of the tradition that the sport has ever seen.

Pegula focused on the quarterfinals as Berlin run continues

The fan’s romantic ambitions aside, Pegula has considerably more pressing business ahead of her in Berlin. She faces Paula Badosa in the quarterfinals on Thursday, a match that carries genuine weight given Badosa’s form this week. The Spaniard stunned world No. 3 Coco Gauff 1-6, 6-3, 6-2 in the previous round, her first top-ten victory since this same tournament a year ago. 

Badosa is ranked 142nd in the world following a prolonged injury absence, but has shown at various points in 2026 that she retains the quality to trouble anyone when fit and in rhythm. Pegula is 3-1 up in their head-to-head, with their most recent meeting coming in 2024 at the China Open, where she defeated Badosa in straight sets, but the latter, who has momentum on a grass court, is a different proposition to play.  

On the doubles front, Pegula is partnering with Gauff, and the two Americans defeated Anastasia Potapova and Diana Shnaider in their opening round in straight sets. Up next, they face Asia Muhammad and Fanny Stollar, a seemingly easy route to the doubles semi-finals. 

The world No. 4 enters as one of the favorites in both draws, and with Wimbledon three weeks away, Berlin is the ideal place to get match sharpness on a surface she has historically performed well on. The anonymous fan on Wednesday in the stands is unlikely to receive the response he was seeking. He did, however, get a laugh, and in the tradition of Steffi Graf and a long line of tennis romantics before him, that may have to be enough.