Sabalenka Beats Pegula Again, Sets Up Three-Peat Bid Against Rybakina or Gauff Saturday

Aryna Sabalenka took care of her business Thursday night at Arthur Ashe Stadium, beating Jessica Pegula 7-5, 6-2 in one hour and 20 minutes, according to WTA Tennis, to reach her fourth consecutive US Open final.

It's the third year running Sabalenka has beaten Pegula in New York. She's now 10-4 against the American in tour play. Pegula, the 2024 runner-up, is still without a major title.

A record-setting run

The win pushed Sabalenka to eight consecutive Grand Slam hard-court finals, an Open Era record, according to WTA Tennis. She passed Steffi Graf, Martina Hingis and Novak Djokovic, who each reached seven in a row.

She's also the sixth woman in the Open Era to reach four or more straight US Open finals, joining Evonne Goolagong Cawley, Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova, Graf and Serena Williams, per WTA Tennis.

Outlets differed slightly on Sabalenka's exact US Open winning streak. The Guardian put it at 19 consecutive victories at Flushing Meadows; a Forbes report carried by Bitcoin Ethereum News counted 20. Either way, she hasn't lost a match at the tournament since 2023.

How it went down

The first set was tight for nine games, according to The Guardian, with the average rally lasting just two and a half shots as both players traded holds. Pegula got her first break chance at 4-all, forcing a deuce point off a Sabalenka double fault, but Sabalenka saved it with a forehand winner and held.

Then, serving at 5-6, Pegula fell apart. Sabalenka broke to steal the opening set 7-5 in 43 minutes, per The Guardian, and carried that momentum into the second, finishing with 29 winners to Pegula's 12.

"That's definitely, you can ask her, the best match she's played this year," Pegula said afterward, according to WTA Tennis. "I thought her level was insanely high... She played insane. She played a super-high level. Honestly, I don't really know if there was much I could do today."

Sabalenka agreed. "I felt like whatever decision I would make, it is the right decision," she said, per The Straits Times. "Compared to the last matches we played, it was definitely the better level from me."

Former world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki, calling the match for ESPN, was blunter: "If she's playing like this, she's pretty much impossible to beat," she said, according to a Forbes report carried by Bitcoin Ethereum News.

A historically loaded semifinal night

Thursday marked the first time the top four women's seeds reached the US Open semifinals since 1975, and the first time it happened at any Grand Slam since Wimbledon in 2009, according to The Guardian. Former first lady Michelle Obama was in the crowd for the earlier match on Ashe and drew loud applause from fans, per The Straits Times.

Sabalenka thanked the partisan New York crowd, which was clearly rooting for Pegula. "You guys are the best and your respect for me is priceless," she said, according to The Straits Times. "I know you wanted her to win but thank you for being so respectful to me."

What's at stake Saturday

Sabalenka will face the winner of Elena Rybakina's semifinal against Coco Gauff, according to The Guardian. Rybakina's run to the semifinals has already guaranteed she will take over the world No. 1 ranking when the rankings are updated Monday, regardless of Saturday's outcome, per The Guardian. Asked about potentially winning the tournament while surrendering the top ranking, Sabalenka said, "I don't care... Not much I could do about that, but I can only focus on myself and just stay in the moment and trying to do my best right now."

Sabalenka has faced Rybakina twice before in major finals: she won the 2023 Australian Open final, and Rybakina beat her in three sets in this year's Australian Open final.

Only two women have ever three-peated at the US Open in the Open Era: Chris Evert, who won four straight from 1975-78, and Serena Williams, who won three straight from 2012-14, according to a Forbes report carried by Bitcoin Ethereum News. Sabalenka, asked before the semifinals whether she'd trade the No. 1 ranking for a three-peat, didn't hesitate. "Yes, three-peat. Sounds great," she said, per the same Forbes report.