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Jessica Pegula Rallies in U.S. Open Semis to Make First Grand Slam Final

Zach Koons

Pegula advanced to her first Grand Slam final with a victory in the U.S. Open semis on Thursday.
Pegula advanced to her first Grand Slam final with a victory in the U.S. Open semis on Thursday. / Robert Deutsch-Imagn Images

For the first time in her career, Jessica Pegula is a Grand Slam singles' finalist.

After a shaky start in her U.S. Open semifinal, Pegula rallied back in impressive fashion to take down Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic,1–6, 6–4, 6–2. The 30-year-old American will advance to take on No. 2 seed and two-time major winner Aryna Sabalenka in Saturday's final.

Pegula's victory came in her first-ever appearance in a Grand Slam semifinal, making a trip to the championship match an extension of her deepest run at a major. Before the 2024 U.S. Open, she had made the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam on six different occasions, but had been unable to convert—three times at the Australian Open and once each at the French Open, Wimbledon and the U.S. Open.

Pegula's path to the final was anything but an easy road. In the quarterfinals, as the No. 6 seed in the tournament, she had to take down world No. 1 Iga Swiatek—a feat she managed to accomplish in straight sets.

Then on Thursday, Pegula struggled out of the gate as Muchova came out firing to win the first set. Muchova then quickly nabbed the opening two games of the second set and seem poised to break her American opponent in the third game.

However, Pegula settled down and quickly gained control of the match. She capitalized on her first serve, winning 54% and 71% of points on he first serve in the second and third sets, respectively, after managing to convert on just 36% of such points in the first set. Muchova struggled to keep pace and after getting broken early in the third set, couldn't find a way to come back.

With a dream run already in her back pocket, Pegula will now look to hoist her first Grand Slam singles' trophy. She'll take the court against Sabalenka on Saturday at 4 p.m. ET.

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Zach Koons

ZACH KOONS

Zach Koons is a programming editor at Sports Illustrated who frequently writes about Formula One. He joined SI as a breaking/trending news writer in February 2022 before joining the programming team in 2023. Koons previously worked at The Spun and interned for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He currently hosts the "Bleav in Northwestern" podcast and received a bachelor's in journalism from Northwestern University.

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