Jessica Pegula Rallies Past Emma Navarro To Face Aryna Sabalenka In The Semis
Jessica Pegula is in the US Open semifinals for the third consecutive year, and faces the same opponent who ended her run the last two times.
The No. 3 seed defeated fellow American Emma Navarro 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 Tuesday night at Arthur Ashe Stadium in a match that started 90 minutes late and required Pegula to find her best tennis down a set and a break.
Navarro was sharper early, breaking Pegula twice in the opener and forcing five double faults, but Pegula steadied herself between sets, dropped her serve speed and trusted her baseline game.
When Navarro broke for 2-1 in the third set, Pegula won the next four games and closed it out. She improved to 5-0 all-time against Navarro and is now 19-and-whatever in three-set matches this season, the most on tour.
She is also 32 years old and the oldest woman in the Open era to reach multiple major semifinals in the same year for the first time in her career.
Her reward: Aryna Sabalenka on Thursday. The world No. 1 beat Pegula in the 2024 final and again in the 2025 semifinals.
They are the fourth pair of women in the Open era to meet in the semifinals or later at three consecutive US Opens. "She's gotten me here the last couple of years," Pegula said. "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."
