The Athletic has live coverage of the 2026 U.S. Open women’s semifinalsNEW YORK — Aryna Sabalenka is headed back to the U.S. Open final.After beating Jessica Pegula 7-5, 6-2 on a dank, heavy night in Arthur Ashe Stadium, Sabalenka is one win away from her third consecutive title in New York.That would be a remarkable achievement. The U.S. Open is the hardest Grand Slam to defend. It comes toward the end of the season, when top players can be banged up or burned out and ripe for the taking.Sabalenka’s achievement would be even more stunning given her sub-par form of the past four months. She was nearly unbeatable in the first quarter of the year, but she has been eminently beatable since April. Often, she has beaten herself in big spots as much as she has let others beat her.That vulnerable version of Sabalenka has largely disappeared since she landed in New York for her last shot at a Grand Slam title this year. That’s the same position she was in a year ago, but that was after a year of losing mostly in finals.
Rising this year seemed like a far-fetched concept for the world No. 1, who will no longer hold that position next week regardless of whether she wins Saturday’s final. She has said that’s just fine. Getting her hands back on this trophy is all she cares about.Biggest takeaways from the U.S. Open so farAva WallaceThat’s how she played Thursday night, in front of a packed house of 24,000 people who were largely desperate to rally behind one of their hometown favorites.Sabalenka barely gave them or Pegula a chance. The world No. 3 earned just one chance to break Sabalenka’s serve in the first set, and Sabalenka snuffed it out quickly, with a big serve and a bigger forehand.Pegula kept going, trying to use her flat power down the middle of the court. She was trying to get Sabalenka to miss, cutting off the angles that the defending champion uses to run her opponents out of matches.The first set was about as clean as it gets. Lots of hard, quick rallies. Eleven consecutive holds of serve. A few fraught moments from Sabalenka, when she missed in the net or when Pegula had the temerity to hit a winner.Then Pegula stepped up to the line at 5-6. Sabalenka’s power drew two errors. Amid the pressure Pegula double-faulted. On her second set point chance, Sabalenka attacked hard down the middle. Pegula went into the net, and Sabalenka was halfway to the final. The second half of the journey was even cleaner, and with a calm pump of her fist, Sabalenka celebrated the opportunity to three-peat in the tennis city she loves like no other.Sep 11, 2026Connections: Sports EditionSpot the pattern. Connect the termsFind the hidden link between sports terms
