Sabalenka Sweeps Past Pegula in Straight Sets
Aryna Sabalenka moved to within one victory of a third consecutive US Open championship on Thursday night, defeating Jessica Pegula 7-5, 6-2 inside Arthur Ashe Stadium. The top-seeded Belarusian produced 29 winners against Pegula's 12, converting a tight opening set into a lopsided result and recording her 19th straight win at Flushing Meadows. The match lasted 1 hour 20 minutes.[S1]
The opening set was level through eight games, with rallies averaging only two and a half shots. Pegula earned her lone break point at 4-all after a Sabalenka double fault, but the champion erased it with a forehand winner, held with a forehand volley, and then broke Pegula at 5-6 by winning three straight points, taking the set after 43 minutes. Sabalenka did not drop serve all night and faced just one break point.[S1]
In the second set, Sabalenka broke Pegula for 3-1 on her fourth opportunity and again in the final game. Pegula won only five of 19 points on her second serve, a statistic that proved decisive. The third seed said she thought she did not play badly but that Sabalenka's level only improved as the match progressed.[S1]
A Rivalry Renewed and a Place in History
The semifinal marked the third straight September in which Pegula reached the second week in New York only to be eliminated by Sabalenka. Their US Open rivalry began with Sabalenka's 7-5, 7-5 win in the 2024 final. A year later, Pegula took the opening set before Sabalenka recovered for a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 semifinal victory on her way to defending the title. Thursday's meeting was far more straightforward.[S1]
Sabalenka said the memory of a grass-court loss to Pegula in Berlin this summer sharpened her focus, making her feel she had few chances and forcing her to stay concentrated from start to finish. The 28-year-old is now one step from becoming the third woman to win three straight US Open titles, after Chris Evert and Serena Williams. She has reached the final in each of her past four appearances here, a run that began with a loss to Coco Gauff in the 2023 championship match.[S1]
This fortnight, Sabalenka has shown little vulnerability. She swept Camila Osorio, Polina Iatcenko, Kamilla Rakhimova and Taylor Townsend without dropping a set before surviving her first serious test against Wimbledon champion Linda Noskova in Tuesday's quarterfinal, winning 7-6, 3-6, 7-6 after 2 hours 22 minutes.[S1]
Final Against Rybakina and the Ranking at Stake
Sabalenka will face Elena Rybakina in Saturday's final. Rybakina's run to the semifinals has already ensured that Sabalenka's 99-week stay at world No 1 will end when the rankings are updated on Monday. Asked about potentially winning the tournament while losing the top ranking, Sabalenka said she did not care, adding that there was not much she could do about it and that she could only focus on herself and stay in the moment.[S1]
The ranking may be gone, but the US Open title remains hers to defend for at least one more match. The semifinal was the first time the top four women's seeds had reached the last four at the US Open since 1975, and the first time it had happened at any grand slam since Wimbledon in 2009. More than 20,000 fans filled Arthur Ashe Stadium for the opening leg of the women's semifinal doubleheader.[S1]
