At Flushing Meadows, where greatness is measured in the weight of repetition, Aryna Sabalenka moved one match closer to joining the rarest company in women's tennis. Her 7-5, 6-2 dismantling of Jessica Pegula on Thursday was less a contest than a demonstration — a reminder that dominance, when it arrives fully formed, leaves little room for argument. Should she win Saturday's final, she will become the first woman since Serena Williams to claim three consecutive US Open titles, a feat that places her not merely at the top of a ranking but inside a longer story about what sustained excellence l
Sabalenka dominates Pegula to reach US Open final, eyes third consecutive title
I was so desperate for the win, I wanted it badly.
Mark
So Sabalenka just overwhelmed Pegula. What made this different from their previous meetings?
Mimi
The first two times they played at the U.S. Open—2024 final and 2025 semifinals—those matches were tight most of the way. This one wasn't. Sabalenka found a gear late in the first set and never gave it back. She hit 29 winners to Pegula's 12.
Luke
That's a huge gap. But I want to know: was Pegula playing badly, or was Sabalenka just playing that well? There's a difference.
Mimi
Both, probably. Sabalenka was targeting Pegula's second serve and breaking it down. But Pegula is ranked third in the world—she wasn't playing poorly. Sabalenka was just better.
Mark
And this win puts her one match away from something historic?
Mimi
Right. Three consecutive U.S. Open titles. Serena Williams did it in 2012-14. No one has done it since.
Luke
But here's the thing—Rybakina is going to be world No. 1 next week no matter what happens Saturday. So even if Sabalenka wins the title, she loses the ranking.
Mimi
She said she's fine with that. And honestly, if she plays Saturday like she played Thursday, the ranking feels like a detail.
Mark
Who does she face in the final?
Mimi
Either Rybakina or Coco Gauff. Gauff actually beat Sabalenka in the 2023 final—the last time Sabalenka lost at this tournament.
Luke
So Sabalenka has won 19 straight matches here since that loss. That's a real streak. But Gauff has beaten her before, and Rybakina is playing well enough to be moving to No. 1.
Mimi
True. But Sabalenka's level Thursday was something else. If she brings that to Saturday, it's hard to see either of them stopping her.
The Pulse
- Sabalenka's 29 winners to Pegula's 12 tells the story before the scoreline even can — this was a mismatch that revealed itself slowly, then all at once.
- A competitive first set gave Pegula a foothold, but Sabalenka's late-set surge against the second serve turned texture into tide, and the tide never reversed.
- The second set became something close to a formality, with Sabalenka operating at a level she herself called her best tennis of the entire tournament.
- A 19-match winning streak at the US Open since 2023 now hangs over Saturday's final like a dare — Rybakina or Gauff must answer it.
- Off the court, a ranking change looms: Rybakina will rise to world No. 1 next week regardless of Saturday's result, a footnote Sabalenka says she can live with.
At Flushing Meadows, where greatness is measured in the weight of repetition, Aryna Sabalenka moved one match closer to joining the rarest company in women's tennis. Her 7-5, 6-2 dismantling of Jessica Pegula on Thursday was less a contest than a demonstration — a reminder that dominance, when it arrives fully formed, leaves little room for argument. Should she win Saturday's final, she will become the first woman since Serena Williams to claim three consecutive US Open titles, a feat that places her not merely at the top of a ranking but inside a longer story about what sustained excellence looks like.
Aryna Sabalenka entered Thursday's semifinal as the world's top-ranked player and left it having made that status look almost understated. Her 7-5, 6-2 victory over Jessica Pegula was decisive on the scoreboard and starker beneath it — 29 winners to Pegula's 12, a gap that reflected not a collapse but a takeover.
The first set offered genuine competition. Pegula, ranked third in the world, held her own through most of it, and the match had the feel of something that could go either way. Then Sabalenka shifted gears, targeting Pegula's second serve with increasing precision, and the momentum moved — and stayed moved. The second set was nearly ceremonial, Sabalenka playing what she would later describe as her best tennis of the tournament.
At 28, the Belarusian is now one win from history. Three consecutive US Open titles would place her alongside Serena Williams, who accomplished the feat in 2012, 2013, and 2014. Sabalenka has not lost at this tournament since the 2023 final — a run of 19 straight wins that speaks to something beyond form. Saturday's opponent will be either Elena Rybakina or Coco Gauff, the latter being the last player to beat her here.
After the match, Sabalenka was direct: she had wanted the win badly, she had played the tennis she needed to play, and she was not pretending otherwise. There is a ranking change coming regardless — Rybakina will ascend to No. 1 next week — but if Saturday resembles Thursday, the number beside her name will matter far less than what she does with a racket in her hand.
Aryna Sabalenka walked into Thursday's semifinal at the U.S. Open as the world's top-ranked player, and by the time she left, she had dismantled Jessica Pegula with the kind of tennis that makes opponents look small. The score was 7-5, 6-2—decisive enough on paper, but the numbers underneath told a starker story. Sabalenka hit 29 winners. Pegula managed 12. It was not a match that stayed close; it was a match that got away from one player and never came back.
The first set had texture. For most of it, the two women traded holds and broke serves in ways that suggested a real contest was unfolding. Pegula, ranked third in the world, was not playing poorly. But somewhere in the late stages of that opening set, Sabalenka found a different speed. She began targeting Pegula's second serve with precision and aggression, and the momentum shifted. By the time the set ended at 7-5, the direction of the match had already been decided. The second set was almost ceremonial—Sabalenka playing at a level that left Pegula with no answer, turning what could have been a grinding semifinal into what she herself called her most impressive stretch of tennis in the entire tournament.
At 28 years old, the Belarusian star is now one win away from something that has not happened in women's tennis since Serena Williams did it in 2012, 2013, and 2014: three consecutive U.S. Open titles. Sabalenka won the championship in 2024 and 2025. Saturday night, she will face either Elena Rybakina or Coco Gauff, depending on the outcome of their semifinal. She has not lost at this tournament since the 2023 final, when Gauff beat her—a streak of 19 consecutive wins that speaks to how thoroughly she has owned this particular stage.
After the match, Sabalenka spoke with the kind of directness that comes from knowing you played exactly the tennis you needed to play. "I was so desperate for the win, I wanted it badly," she said. "No complaints. I'm just super happy that I was able to pull out such tennis." There was no false modesty in it, no hedging. She had played better than her opponent, and she knew it.
There is one wrinkle worth noting: Rybakina will move to world No. 1 next week regardless of what happens Saturday. Sabalenka has held the ranking, and she said this week she would be fine letting it go. But if she plays Saturday the way she played Thursday—with that kind of precision and power—it will be hard to argue she does not deserve to be remembered as the player who dominated this tournament, ranking or not.
Notable Quotes
I was so desperate for the win, I wanted it badly. No complaints. I'm just super happy that I was able to pull out such tennis.— Aryna Sabalenka, after the semifinal
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