Aryna Sabalenka is one win away from a historic US Open three-peat after defeating Jessica Pegula 7-5, 6-2 in the semifinals on Thursday. The defending champion will face Elena Rybakina in Saturday’s final, with the chance to become the first player since Serena Williams from 2012 to 2014 to win three consecutive titles at Flushing Meadows, according to Tempo.co. Sabalenka may lose her No. 1 ranking to Rybakina on Monday, but the US Open trophy remains entirely in her hands. According to ESPN, Rybakina secured the top ranking by reaching the semifinals, meaning Sabalenka could not prevent the change at the top of the WTA rankings.

Sabalenka’s Dominance in the Match

Sabalenka’s victory over Pegula was described by her opponent as one of her best performances of the year, according to Tempo.co, but she hit 29 winners compared with Pegula’s 12 and dominated on her opponent’s second serve, winning 14 of 19 points. Pegula managed to stay level with Sabalenka for much of the opening set, reaching 4-4 after 25 minutes; But Sabalenka found another gear late in the set, breaking through at 6-5 before taking control in the second.

In another semifinal, Rybakina defeated Coco Gauff 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, setting up a clash between the top two players in women’s tennis, according to Tempo.co, as Rybakina also defeated Sabalenka in the Australian Open final earlier this season, adding another layer to Saturday’s showdown. Sabalenka has now won 19 consecutive matches at the US Open since losing to Gauff in the 2023 final.

Rankings and Rivalries

Sabalenka has held the No. 1 ranking for 99 consecutive weeks, but admitted that a poor summer allowed Rybakina to close the gap, according to Tempo.co. In a previous match, Sabalenka reached the quarterfinals with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Taylor Townsend in a match that produced 11 breaks of serve across 19 games, according to Lower Bucks Times. Townsend went ahead 3-1 in the second set, but Sabalenka responded by winning five consecutive games to close out the match.

Sky Sports tennis analyst Annabel Croft noted that Townsend tried to move forward into the net but Sabalenka’s baseline game neutralized the approach, according to Lower Bucks Times. Sabalenka’s world No. 1 ranking now depends on winning a third straight US Open title and on current No. 2 Elena Rybakina losing before the semifinals, Sky Sports noted.

Post-Match Reflections and Future Matches

After the match against Pegula, Sabalenka said, “I wanted badly to go to the finals, and of course I want to go all the way,” according to Tempo.co. She added, “I’m trying to focus on myself, to enjoy my time in New York and I’m ready to come out here and do anything it takes to get the wins,” according to ubitennis.net. Sabalenka admitted she enjoyed the atmosphere at the US Open and fed off the energy in New York, “Of course I enjoyed that, I missed New York! Of course I’m super happy with the level that I played, especially the first set, happy to get through this tough opponent in straight sets too,” Sabalenka was quoted by the US Open website as saying in her on-court interview.

Meanwhile, in other first round action, Cincinnati semi-finalist Sara Bejlek lost in three sets to Cristina Bucsa while Karolina Muchova cruised past Sinja Kraus 6-3 6-0 in 58 minutes, according to ubitennis.net. Muchova is a former semi-finalist at the US Open and recently reached the final at Wimbledon where she lost to Linda Noskova; Next up for Muchova will be Britain’s Katie Boulter but Boulter won’t be the only British representative in the second round. Harriet Dart defeated Peyton Stearns 3-6 6-3 6-2 and will now play Marie Bouzkova next.