Aryna Sabalenka's dream for a three-peat will be on the line when she faces American star Jessica Pegula in one of the two semifinals at the US Open 2026 on Friday (as per IST)
NEW DELHI — Aryna Sabalenka's dream for a three-peat will be on the line when she faces American star Jessica Pegula in one of the two semifinals at the US Open 2026 on Friday (as per IST).
Sabalenka will resume her rivalry with Pegula, whom she had defeated to win her first Flushing Meadows title and will have to get past the third seed to have a shot at a historic US Open three-peat, which has only been done by Chris Evert and Serena Williams in the Open Era.
Meanwhile, newly crowned World No. 1 Elena Rybakina will face fourth seed and former US Open champion Coco Gauff in the other semifinal, in what is expected to be another fascinating contest in New York.
The semifinal matchup is a significant milestone. It will be only the second time in the Open Era that the top four seeds will be playing in the US Open semifinals, with 1975 being the only previous occasion. It will also be the first time that the top four seeds will be battling in the last four of any major since 2009 Wimbledon.
Both the matches are expected to live up to the billing as Sabalenka and Pegula share a rich rivalry, while Rybakina and Gauff are among the best women's singles players in the world too.
Sabalenka has defeated Pegula nine times in their 13 meetings, but it was the American who got the better of the two-time reigning US Open champion Sabalenka in their last meeting at the 2026 Berlin semifinals.
The two have also been on level in head-to-head encounters in their last four meetings, as both have won two clashes each and all four of them went into the deciding sets.
"I'm just super happy that I put myself in the position where I have a chance to go for three-peat, even though I'm still far away from that," Sabalenka said ahead of the semifinal. "What I learned from Australia is it's really important to shut down all of the noise and have that on the back of your mind. There's nothing wrong about that, just as long as you're focusing on yourself, as long as you're ready to fight, basically."
Meanwhile, Pegula is looking to take the confidence from the recent happy moments against Sabalenka. "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 player," Pegula said. "She 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."
Meanwhile, Rybakina and Gauff have not faced each other much, with their head-to-head being 1-1. Rybakina came into this tournament after an injury scare in Cincinnati. "I think from where I was coming to this tournament, being injured and not practising, I think we came pretty far," Rybakina said Wednesday. "Now (it's) just the last pushes and important to still enjoy. Hopefully it's going to go my way."
Meanwhile, Gauff has also been on a stellar run this season, having dropped just one set after 20 consecutive set wins, and that came when she was a set down and had to save a match point against Mirra Andreeva in the quarterfinal.
"Sometimes you just need a chance, and I think I got my chances today," Gauff said. "I was really determined to not lose that second set because I felt I worked so hard to give myself opportunities and lost them. Once the third set started, I felt pretty confident I was going to come out with that one."
Sabalenka and Pegula will be playing the first semifinal at the Arthur Ashe Stadium, which is scheduled to begin at 4:30 am IST on September 11. The second semifinal is estimated to start around 5:40 am IST, but that could change if the first semifinal goes to the distance.