Jessica Pegula explains why she is ‘not that upset’ despite losing to Aryna Sabalenka in the US Open semi-finals
· Yahoo Sports
Jessica Pegula’s US Open campaign came to an end on Thursday evening.
Aryna Sabalenka played lights-out tennis to defeat the American number one 7-5, 6-2 inside the Arthur Ashe Stadium.
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Sabalenka hit 29 winners during the semi-final contest – 18 more than Pegula.
Pegula showered Sabalenka with praise during her post-match press conference.
Jessica Pegula says she is ‘not that upset’ due to Aryna Sabalenka’s ‘insane’ level during their US Open semi-final
“I think that’s definitely – you can ask her – probably the best match she has played this year. I thought her level was extremely high,” Pegula began.
Photo by Manuela Davies/USTA via Getty Images“Maybe she felt a little bit off at the beginning but I felt like we were both playing well, serving well.
“I don’t know who p***** her off today. Hopefully it wasn’t me totally, but might have been, I don’t know [laughing].
“She played insane. She played a super high level.
“I don’t really know if there was much I could do today.”
Aryna Sabalenka’s US Open final results
- 2023: Coco Gauff defeated Aryna Sabalenka 2-6, 6-3, 6-2
- 2024: Aryna Sabalenka defeated Jessica Pegula 7-5, 7-5
- 2025: Aryna Sabalenka defeated Amanda Anisimova 6-3, 7-6
- 2026: will play Coco Gauff or Elena Rybakina in the final
“I’m honestly not that upset, to be honest,” Pegula later added.
“I don’t really think there was much I could have done today.
“We joked with her team. We were like, ‘do you like us? We’re good people [laughing]. We’re pretty nice to you guys. Do you think that maybe one day she could be off like a little bit?’
“That was pretty much our attitude after the match, because like I said, she played an insanely high level – probably one of her better matches this year for sure.
“It didn’t feel like there was a lot… of course I tried to stick around to see if the level would go off.
“But it seemed it just got better as the match went on.”
Sabalenka will await the winner of Coco Gauff and Elena Rybakina in the US Open final.
Photo by Darren Carroll/USTA via Getty ImagesSabalenka has a 7-6 record against Gauff and a 10-7 record against Rybakina.
Rybakina recently snatched the world number one ranking from Sabalenka after triumphing against Qinwen Zheng in the US Open quarter-finals.
Will Jessica Pegula win a Grand Slam title before retiring?
Pegula certainly has the quality to win a Grand Slam title.
The American star is one of the most consistent players on the Tour and an individual who regularly advances to the latter stages of Grand Slam events.
However, time and again Pegula has struggled to defeat Aryna Sabalenka on the biggest stages.
Sabalenka has now defeated Pegula in three consecutive US Open events: including the 2024 final.
Jessica Pegula’s last three US Open defeats
- 2024 US Open final: Aryna Sabalenka defeated Jessica Pegula 7-5, 7-5
- 2025 US Open semi-finals: Aryna Sabalenka defeated Jessica Pegula 4-6, 6-3, 6-4
- 2026 US Open semi-finals: Aryna Sabalenka defeated Jessica Pegula 7-5, 6-2
Pegula’s focus will now shift to the Asian swing, which is due to begin following the US Open’s conclusion.
The 32-year-old is due to compete at the China Open, which will run from September 30 to October 6.
Pegula reached the semi-finals of last year’s event before losing to Linda Noskova.