Aryna Sabalenka maintained her stranglehold on Flushing Meadows with a commanding 7-5 6-2 victory over Jessica Pegula on Thursday, booking a place in her fourth consecutive US Open final and keeping alive her bid for a historic third straight title.
The top seed, who had not lost in New York since the 2023 final, was ruthless in front of a packed Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd that had rallied behind home hope Pegula. Sabalenka dropped only one set en route to the final and produced what many are calling her best performance of the season.
"I was super desperate," Sabalenka said afterwards. "It feels for me, talking about Grand Slams, like a last push of the season. I wanted it badly to go to the finals, and of course, I want to go all the way."
A tight first set saw both players trade blows until 5-5, with Sabalenka showing flashes of frustration as unforced errors crept in. But the Belarusian found her rhythm at the crucial moment, breaking Pegula at 6-5 to snatch the opener before racing through the second set.
Sabalenka's dominance was reflected in the statistics: she fired 29 winners to Pegula's 12, placed seven aces and won 74 per cent of first-serve points. Pegula, the third seed, could convert none of her break-point opportunities and managed just 26 per cent of points on her second serve.
The victory means Sabalenka has now reached eight successive hard-court Grand Slam finals, breaking the Open era record. She is the first player, male or female, to achieve the feat since the record books began. Only Serena Williams and Chris Evert have won three or more consecutive US Open titles in the Open era.
Pegula, 32, was gracious in defeat. "I do think she probably would have beaten 99 per cent of people," she said. "Probably the best match she's played this year."
Sabalenka will face second seed Elena Rybakina in Saturday's final after the Kazakh staged a comeback to beat Coco Gauff 3-6 6-4 6-4 in the other semifinal. It will be the first time the top two seeds have contested the women's final at Flushing Meadows since Serena Williams beat Victoria Azarenka in 2013.
Rybakina is already guaranteed to replace Sabalenka as world number one when the rankings update on Monday, but the Belarusian will be determined to deny her rival the crown on the biggest stage.
Sources
https://www.ubitennis.com/blog/2026/09/11/us-open-sabalenka-ingrana-la-quarta-pegula-ko-in-due-set-la-bielorussa-vola-in-finale/ https://www.bbc.com/sport/tennis/articles/cy9znnpnx5ro
