Cheers! Jessica Pegula scores partnership with Stella Artois

No Limit NYC: Jessica Pegula talks bagels and wings with Prakash

Some professional tennis players sip champagne from trophies after winning them. But few players, to my knowledge, have sipped beer at a press conference in defeat. They may have wanted to—a sarcastic Andy Roddick press conference from the 2006 Australian Open comes to mind—but they didn't actually go ahead and do it.

Jessica Pegula, as they say, understood the assignment. Following a tight, two-set loss to Iga Swiatek at last year's US Open—her third quarterfinal exit at a Slam that season—Pegula didn't wait for her media obligations to end before cracking open a brew:

You would think, based on that video (which has become one of the great tennis memes), that if any brewery was to partner with Pegula, it would be Heineken. If not them, then Labatt, the official beer of Pegula's Buffalo Bills.

You would be wrong. And you can thank @bigfoe1998 for that.

That's the Instagram handle of Frances Tiafoe, Pegula's compatriot and United Cup teammate. Their friendship shined through the screen as they helped lead the U.S. to victory in the mixed-team event in January, but it may have grown deeper as many relationships tend to do—over a beer.

When Tiafoe posted a video of his new sponsorship with Stella Artois, the Belgian pilsner beer available worldwide, Pegula responded:

How do you get a Stella deal? Nobody will cut the check for me

That is, until now.

"I have two incredible wins to share today!," wrote @jpegula on Instagram. "First, I’m heading into the semi-finals for @MiamiOpen and I’m excited to announce partnering with @stellaartoisusa for their Perfect Serve program in Miami.

"I love a brand that moves quickly and can’t wait to see what else Stella has in store!"

Tiafoe responded with the emoji version of a toast: 😂😂😂😂😂 this is iconic

Stella Artois is actually the second beverage Pegula has thrown her support behind in Miami. She's also a brand ambassador for Ready, a nutritional sports drink.

From the looks of it, Pegula has her pre- and post-match drinks in order. We'll have to see what happens after evening semifinal against Elena Rybakina, win or lose.

Also: can her and Tiafoe team up again in mixed doubles? I can think of some pretty creative, Stella-inspired celebrations.