Aryna Sabalenka said it herself shortly after advancing to the semifinals of the U.S. Open for a sixth straight year: Jessica Pegula has upped her game recently.
The No. 1 seed knows she has fallen victim to that development in recent years, but now Pegula is the last obstacle the Belarusian must clear to get her shot at completing the first three-peat in Flushing in 12 years.
After winning eight of their first 10 meetings, Sabalenka has lost to Pegula in two of their past three matches.
“Jessica [is a] really challenging player to play against,” Sabalenka said candidly in her postmatch news conference Tuesday. “I can say that she really improved a lot in [the] last couple of years, improved her game, really putting me under so much pressure. But I’m loving playing against her, because it’s a battle, because it’s a fight, and I love being under pressure and going through tough challenges.
“So playing against her, it’s going to be a really high-intensity level of tennis.”
It’s true, Pegula has added variety to her game, improved her serve and learned how to optimize her physical freshness the past few years.
The one thing she has yet to do, however, is beat Sabalenka on a Grand Slam stage.
Sabalenka holds a 3-0 record against Pegula in Grand Slam matches, winning two in straight sets. That includes the 28-year-old’s 7-5, 7-5 victory over Pegula in the 2024 U.S. Open final.
“She’s gotten me here the last couple of years,” said Pegula, who also lost to Sabalenka last year in the semifinals of the U.S. Open. “I have been able to beat her a few times, maybe on a smaller stage, so I think that’s going to be kind of a hurdle for me to get over. But at the same time, I think it’s fun.
“We’ve challenged each other. I know that she’s definitely pushed me to become a better player, so I always respect and appreciate that aspect of our rivalry.”
Still searching for her first Grand Slam title, Pegula is in the midst of one of the most successful major seasons of her career. Aside from a first-round exit at Roland Garros, the 32-year-old reached at least the quarterfinals in three of the four major tournaments.
Pegula will appear in multiple Grand Slam semifinals in a single calendar year for the first time, having also gone that far at the Australian Open in January, when she lost to new world No. 1 Elena Rybakina.
Sabalenka was at the top of the rankings for 99 straight weeks before Rybakina dethroned her Wednesday.
Asked if she’d be OK with handing over the No. 1 title to Rybakina if it meant she would win her third U.S. Open in a row, Sabalenka said she’d be happy to make that tradeoff.
The Belarusian is on a mission to become the first man or woman to pull off a three-peat at the U.S. Open since Serena Williams achieved the feat in 2014.
But maybe, just maybe, Pegula’s third time facing Sabalenka in the U.S. Open will be the charm.
“I think it’s fun to look at it like a rivalry,” Pegula said. “I think that’s what kind of motivates me. Honestly, I feel like that’s what’s going to motivate her probably that I beat her the last couple of times. I’m sure she’s going to look at those couple of matches and what she needs to do different. I think for me, I’m going to try to pull what I did well from those few matches, but then also be aware that she’s a top, No. 1, top player, she’s No. 1 in the world.
“Her and her team I feel like do a really great job of looking at what they need to improve, what other players are doing against her, and I think that’s the reason she is No. 1, because they’ve done such a great job at that. So at the same time, I’m going to have to be very aware of maybe something different that they’re going to have to or want to do going into this match. But I mean, of course, it’s a new match.”
