"They tend to always be older men" - Jessica Pegula and Madison Keys reveal scary reality of being followed & hounded for autographs

Jessica Pegula and Madison Keys shed light on the dark reality behind fan engagement that sometimes gets too overwhelming and scary, too. Both American stars appeared in the latest episode of their The Players Box show alongside Jennifer Brady and Desirae Krawczyk.

Both tennis stars shared their take on the growing trend of hounding tennis stars for autographs and how, sometimes, it becomes too uncomfortable for them.

Jessica Pegula: "From a female perspective, it gets creepy"

Jessica Pegula shared her concerns about a strategy used by a group of old men who would surround her for autographs and rotate amongst each other to build a stack of photographs, which they later allegedly sell them.

"I think from a female perspective especially, the boundaries thing gets really weird because they tend to always be older men, and it’s just a little… creepy," Pegula said (38:29). "It’s a little too much. And when the boundaries thing gets crossed, like in his instance, he’s just trying to walk to dinner, and who knows, maybe he just signed 20 of them for this guy and didn’t feel like signing another one because the guy was harassing him, I feel like it’s a boundaries thing."

Pegula added that the fans forget they are "human." She also mentioned that following players in the elevator or into your hotel room is "totally crossing a line."

Madison Keys: "A woman followed me to my hotel room."

Madison Keys also detailed one story where a stranger once followed her through the hallway of the hotel. When she turned around, he was asking for her autograph.

"Or like one time in a hotel, a woman followed me to my room," Keys said. "Yeah. And I turned around and was like, ‘Oh my god, what the hell?’ And she was like, ‘Yeah, can you sign this?’ And I was like, ‘Okay… but do you realize how weird this is?’"

Over time, the American star has learned that it's the same set of people who already have 10 to 15 photos, raising the question of whether they are trying to sell them for money.

Keys highlighted why it gets creepy when there's the same person who is endangering her personal space and privacy.

"For me, it’s more when it gets a step too far, when they kind of lose sight that you’re still a person who has boundaries," Keys added. "Like, this would be weird if it happened to you. But I think sometimes fans see someone and they’re just like, ‘Oh, I’m going to go take a picture or whatever I have to do.’”

Overall, both players are of the opinion that fans must maintain a personal space while greeting tennis stars and asking for autographs.