Jessica Pegula has become the first player to beat Aryna Sabalenka at the Wuhan Open after staging an inspired comeback in the decider to clinch a surprise victory.
The American sixth seed was two points away from being knocked out of the tournament before battling back to stun Sabalenka 2-6, 6-4, 7-6(2), in a dramatic encounter filled with twists and turns. It is the fifth time Pegula has beaten a current world No.1 on the Tour since 2023 and the first time she has done so this season.
Sabalenka, who had a perfect 20-0 record at the tournament heading into the semi-final, looked to be closing on victory when leading 5-2 in the final set before moving to two points from the win at 5-3. However, some patchy play from the Belarusian, who hit 33 unforced errors, along with some gutsy play from Pegula, turned the match around. Infuriating the top seed, who threw her racket out of temper when she went behind 5-6.
On her first attempt to serve the match out, Pegula’s nerves got the better of her as she hit four double faults, with one of those being on her first match point. Nevertheless, she managed to regroup in the tiebreak by winning six out of the first seven points played. She went on to seal victory with the help of a Sabalenka forehand error.
“That was crazy, I can’t believe I came back and won that,” Pegula said during her on-court interview.
“I was clearly very nervous when trying to serve it out. I lost my timing, lost my rhythm and tried to go for too much. But I bounced right back in the tiebreak.
“I am really proud of myself. I have played so much tennis the last few weeks, so many three-set matches but I feel like I am very tough right now and I am trying to use that as best as I can.”
Since exiting the US Open, Pegula has played a three-set match in eight out of her last nine encounters on the Tour, winning seven of them. Something she believes played a key factor in her latest victory.
“The last few weeks I have had a lot of match points that have slipped, I’ve had match points that I have lost, I have saved match points….it is nothing new to be honest,” she said.
“I just stayed super present, played the next point, moved on and tried to think about my strategy.”
Pegula is the first player aged 30 or older to reach the final of a WTA 1000 event in consecutive years since Serena Williams (2013-2106). Awaiting her in the title match will be Coco Gauff, who experienced a smoother route into the final. Gauff defeated Jasmine Paolini 6-4, 6-3.
The upcoming showdown will be only the third time a WTA 1000 final has been an all-American encounter since the category was introduced in 2009. The other two were between Pegula and Anamda Anisimova at the 20204 Canadian Open and Williams and Madison Keys at the 2016 Italian Open.
“It will be awesome playing Coco in the final,” said Pegula.
“She’s going to want to win after losing in the final last year.
“We know each other so well; there are no secrets. We know what our game plans are and it is just going to be who can execute their game plans the best.”
Pegula is through to her sixth final of 2025 after Adelaide (runner-up), Austin (won), Miami (runner-up), Charleston (won) and Bad Homburg (won). In comparison, Gauff is through to her fourth after Madrid (runner-up), Rome (runner-up) and the French Open (won).
