Aryna Sabalenka sweeps past Jessica Pegula in semifinals to close historic US Open three-peat

Aryna Sabalenka (AP Photo) Aryna Sabalenkova is one win away from a historic US Open hat-trick after the top seed defeated Jessica Pegula 7-5, 6-2 in the semifinals on Thursday night.For most of the opening set, the two players were separated by little. But once Sabalenkova found her opening, the match changed dramatically. She began attacking Pegula’s second serve with more aggression and carried that momentum into a dominant second set, where she produced some of her best tennis of the tournament.“No complaints,” Sabalenka said. “I’m very happy that I was able to pull off such tennis.”Belarus will play either second seed Elena Rybakina or fourth seed Coco Gauff in Saturday’s final. A win would make Sabalenka the first player since Serena Williams in 2012-14 to win three consecutive US Open titles.Sabalenka is also set to surrender the top spot to Rybakin next week, ending her streak of 99 consecutive weeks at the top. But she made it clear that another trophy in New York would be much easier to accept than giving up the rating.And based on how she dismantled Pegula, Sabalenkova will enter Saturday’s final with great confidence.

Sabalenka turns a tense fight into a one-sided finish

The semifinals initially followed the pattern of the previous two meetings between Sabalenkova and Pegula in the business end of the US Open. Their final in 2024 and semi-final in 2025 were long contested, but this time Sabalenka finally found a different speed.She finished with 29 winners compared to Pegula’s 12 and dominated the American on second serve points, winning 14 of 19.“I wanted to win so much, I wanted it so much,” said Sabalenka.The win extended Sabalenka’s US Open winning streak to 19 matches. She has not lost at Flushing Meadows since Gauff beat her in the 2023 final.The result also maintained the tournament’s dominance of the top four seeds. For the first time since 1975, all four women’s semi-finalists made the draw from the top four positions.Sabalenkova, Rybakina and Gauff have already collected several major titles, while Pegula continues to chase the first Grand Slam trophy of her career.

Pegula hangs before Sabalenka finds a breakthrough

Pegula, a native of Buffalo, New York, hoped her strongest surface and Grand Slam favorite would finally provide the conditions for a first major title.She soon managed to stay with Sabalenko. It was 4-4 after just 25 minutes as Sabalenka began to show signs of frustration as she struggled to get through on Pegula’s serve.After one mistake, the No. 1 seed turned toward her coaches’ box in visible disgust.Pegula won 18 of 20 points on her first serve as she went out on serve at 5-6. There, however, Sabalenka finally broke the deadlock.A backhand winner gave her the first opening. Pegula then pushed a forehand long before Sabalenka produced another winning point to win a set point. She closed out the set two points later, turning a finely balanced match on its head.The hard courts that Pegula is comfortable with also provide the perfect stage for Sabalenka’s power game, and Belarus began to make that difference count.

Pegula has no answer, Sabalenka takes control

Sabalenkova struck again in the second game on Pegula’s serve in the second set. She ended up hitting a 77 mph second serve and returning a 90 mph forehand. Pegula could not recover in time and Sabalenka advanced to 3:1.It was exactly the kind of pressure Sabalenka said she enjoyed against Pegula.The American entered the semi-finals having recorded the most victories on tour this season, while also sharing the lead for victories on hard court. Sabalenka described her as the kind of opponent who could test her and force her to respond whenever she was put under pressure.On Thursday, Sabalenka repeatedly provided these answers.Pegula’s frustration was bubbling over at the end of the match. After Sabalenková performed a powerful shot, which Pegulaová managed only with a volley into the net, the top three threw her racket into the court.