World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka and fourth-seeded Jessica Pegula are headed for a rematch in Arthur Ashe Stadium, as one straight-sets win and one walkover Tuesday propelled them into the U.S. Open semifinals in New York.
After Pegula defeated unseeded Czech Barbora Krejcikova 6-3, 6-3, Sabalenka was slated to face another Czech native, Marketa Vondrousova. The Belarusian star had warmed up but did not need to execute a shot, as Vondrousova injured herself during practice and withdrew from the tournament.
It was unclear what kind of injury Vondrousova sustained, but video of her practice showed the 2023 Wimbledon champion wince and lean over for several moments after hitting a shot. She did not hit another, and she was seen in tears on the side of the court, ESPN reported.
The result: Sabalenka and Pegula will meet in a 1-versus-4 semifinal that recreates last year’s championship match. Sabalenka won her third Grand Slam title when she beat Pegula 7-5, 7-5 last year and has yet to add to that total in 2025.
“So sorry for Marketa after all she’s been through,” Sabalenka wrote on Instagram. “She has been playing amazing tennis and I know how badly this must hurt for her. Take care of yourself and I hope you can recover quickly.”
After failing to reach any Grand Slam semifinals before her 30th birthday, Pegula advanced to her second consecutive U.S. Open semifinal. The Buffalo, N.Y., native was the first to punch her ticket to the semis with her win over Krejcikova.
Pegula, 31, is just the second player whose career began in the Open Era (since 1968) to make her first two Grand Slam semifinal appearances after turning 30.
“I feel like I’m just really comfortable (at the U.S. Open),” Pegula said in her on-court interview. “It’s crazy to look now and think that I’m really comfortable coming out here playing on big courts and big matches on the best court in the world. … It’s something that 10 years ago, I never thought I’d be good at this. I guess I am.”
Pegula jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the opening set against Krejcikova before the Czech competitor broke back to cut the lead to 4-3. Pegula responded with another break and then served out the set.
In the second set, Pegula broke twice in Krejcikova’s first three service games, jumping to a 4-1 lead on the way to a fairly comfortable victory that took an hour and 26 minutes.
It wasn’t the most statistically impressive of performances for Pegula. She had 17 winners to Krejcikova’s 14 and 20 unforced errors to her opponent’s 24.
However, she took advantage of inaccurate service from the 29-year-old Krejcikova, who had seven double faults and landed just 42 percent of her first serves, to win 69 percent of her second-return points (25 of 36).
“I think I’ve been playing some really good tennis,” Pegula said. “I’ve just been playing very solid. I’ve had very quick starts. I really wanted to do that today, especially against someone like her who is very dangerous.”
Pegula has dropped just 23 total games and no sets through five matches — thanks at least in part to the fact that she has not yet faced a seeded opponent in this year’s tournament.
–Field Level Media
