Jessica Pegula Eyes ‘Revenge’ as Potential Aryna Sabalenka Threat Looms at the US Open

Jessica Pegula is storming into the US Open with fire. After early exits at Wimbledon, Washington, Montreal, and Cincinnati, the American refuses to take the year’s last Slam lightly. She hasn’t dropped a set and is back in the semifinals for the second time. Now the challenge heats up. Her next opponent could be top seed Aryna Sabalenka or Marketa Vondrousova. Pegula has split two meetings with Vondrousova. The World No.1, though, is the real test. She beat Jessica in last year’s final and again this year in Miami. Is she ready for the challenge?

On Tuesday, Pegula secured her semifinal place with a crisp win over Barbora Krejcikova, 6-3, 6-3. Asked about her next challenge, she stayed grounded but determined.

“I think it’s going to be tough either way, but I’m just happy that I’ve been able to kind of work my way even to this point, considering where I was a few weeks ago,” Jessica Pegula said in her press conference. But of course, the looming presence of Sabalenka is hard to ignore. Pegula knows it. “I think it would be cool to be able to get revenge, obviously. I didn’t even remember the score — I think I saw… was it like five and five last year? I didn’t even remember it being that close, which was kind of funny,” she added.

Jessica Pegula’s US Open run hit its peak last year under the bright Arthur Ashe lights. She faced Aryna Sabalenka in the final, who was already riding an incredible season. It was a battle of contrasts: Pegula’s consistency and crafty shot-making against Sabalenka’s raw power and fearless strikes.

The Belarusian edged it 7-5, 7-5 in straight sets. Still, for Pegula, it was a milestone: her first Grand Slam final, a stage to flip her story and announce herself under tennis’ brightest spotlight.

And she still remembers every detail, not with awe, but with analysis. “I think after the final, I was so like, ‘Wow, we should be in a third set right now.’ I was very much like, there are so many things… I didn’t serve well, I could have gotten better,” she recalled.

“But I wasn’t like, ‘Oh, what a great match, I’m happy to be in the finals.’ I literally walked off the court and told my coach, ‘Well, I didn’t serve that well,’ or, ‘I didn’t do this well,’ or, ‘I didn’t do that well.’ And that’s just the mentality that I have — I tend to look at how I can get better so quickly, which is good.”

This year, Jessica Pegula has taken her game up a notch. She’s captured three titles — Bad Homburg, Charleston, and Austin — and reached finals in Miami and Adelaide. Steady results have kept her firmly at World No.4. That form, that momentum, is now powering her New York charge. Whoever stands across the net, Pegula looks ready.

There’s been an update to Jessica’s next opponent and it’s a chance for revenge afterall! Aryna Sabalenka has just made it into the semifinals after Marketa Vondrousova withdrew with a knee injury! What does this mean for their clash?

Jessica Pegula to face off against her 2024 US Open nightmare

Sabalenka is into the US Open semifinals without lifting her racquet. She was due to face unseeded Czech Marketa Vondrousova on Tuesday night, but the 2023 Wimbledon champion pulled out less than two hours before the match with a knee injury. “So sorry for Marketa after all she’s been through,” Sabalenka wrote on social media. “She has been playing amazing tennis and I know how badly this must hurt for her.”

Her withdrawal sets up a blockbuster repeat of last year’s final against Jessica Pegula. Earlier at Arthur Ashe, Pegula swept aside Barbora Krejcikova in 1 hour 26 minutes. The American has been ruthless in New York, conceding only 23 games across five matches and not dropping a single set while blasting past Sherif, Blinkova, Azarenka, Li, and now Krejcikova.

Sabalenka, meanwhile, has looked every bit the world No.1. She eased past Rebeka Masarova, Polina Kudermetova, 31st seed Leylah Fernandez, and Cristina Bucsa. Vondrousova had been equally sharp before pulling out, ousting Selekhmeteva, 32nd seed McCartney Kessler, and seventh seed Jasmine Paolini before surviving a three-set fight against ninth seed Elena Rybakina.

It’s been a heavy year for Aryna, packed with big results. Quarterfinals in Rome and Cincinnati, semifinals at Wimbledon and Berlin, plus titles in Brisbane, Miami, and Madrid. She has also made the finals in Melbourne, Indian Wells, Stuttgart, and Roland Garros. The numbers are just as fierce: 217 aces, 68% first-serve points won, and nearly half of her break chances converted across 61 matches.

So here we are. Two players in top form. One chasing dominance, the other chasing redemption. The stage is New York, under the Arthur Ashe lights. Can Jessica Pegula flip the script this time? Drop your thoughts in the comments and follow all the action from the 2025 US Open on our Live Blog!