The 2024 US Open ladies’s singles ultimate is ready: Aryna Sabalenka will face Jessica Pegula on Saturday night from Arthur Ashe Stadium. Whoever comes out on high will likely be profitable their first title on the US Open, the ultimate Grand Slam of the 12 months.
Sabalenka punched her ticket right here with a straight-sets semifinal victory over No. 13 Emma Navarro (6-3, 7-6(2)) whereas Pegula wanted three to down Karolina Munchova in her penultimate matchup, 1-6, 6-4, 6-2.
Sabalenka, 26, will likely be making an attempt for her third ever Grand Slam victory and her first in New York. After a stellar 2023 marketing campaign that noticed her win the Australian Open and make the semifinals of all 4 Grand Slams — the primary particular person since Serena Williams (2016) to take action in a single season — she in the end fell to Coco Gauff within the ultimate.
That loss was only a setback although, as she’d go on to start out the Slam season off this 12 months with one other title in Australia, her second main win. She’s at present ranked second on the earth in singles play, and will likely be favored within the ultimate on Saturday, although that loss to Gauff has and can proceed to return up given how a lot Sabalenka struggled in that matchup.
In truth, it was a serious concern on the tail-end of Thursday’s semifinal, when she was up a set on Navarro. Sabalenka went from being in full management of the match, to falling down a number of breaks within the second set. That in the end ended along with her battling again and forcing a tiebreak, which she received, nevertheless. Regardless of hitting 34 winners and profitable on 74 % of her first serves, she nonetheless hit 34 unforced errors to Navarro’s 13.
Pegula, 30, is the sixth-ranked lady on the earth in the mean time. She’s performed among the greatest tennis of her profession over the previous few years, however that is the furthest she’s made it at a Grand Slam. Her greatest finishes on the Australian Open, French Open, and Wimbledon are all quarterfinals, making her residence turf on the US Open her greatest Slam. She actually had the group behind her for Thursday’s match.
Pegula held her very first service sport towards Muchova, however issues shortly bought out of hand for her. Muchova wanted simply 28 minutes to take the primary set, profitable each sport after Pegula’s first service. She transformed on two of three break makes an attempt, whereas Pegula got here up quick on all three of her’s. Pegula regarded drained greater than something, which isn’t unusual this late within the season.
However not too drained to return roaring again, because it seems. She began off the second set getting damaged shortly, however then held twice whereas breaking Muchova consecutive occasions to get out to a lead, and ultimately the set victory, forcing a 3rd. It’s at this level that it actually seems like Muchova is the one who ran out of fuel. The third set went very equally to the primary, with Pegula popping out on high for the victory.
Pegula’s run by way of has been robust, although going into the semifinal, she had solely confronted one seeded opponent. It simply so occurs that the seeded opponent was high seed Iga Swiatek, who Pegula downed in straight units, 6-2, 6-4.
Sabalenka’s run by way of the event additionally included straight-set victories over No. 7 Qinwen Zheng within the quarterfinals and No. 33 Elise Mertens within the Spherical of 16.
The ladies’s singles bracket will wrap up on Saturday, with the boys’s bracket concluding with the remainder of the event on Sunday. The ladies’s ultimate is ready for 4 p.m. ET from Arthur Ashe Stadium, and will likely be broadcast on ESPN and ESPN Deportes, with dwell streaming accessible by way of ESPN Plus and anyplace that carries ESPN. Under is the total schedule in addition to each competitor’s path by way of the US Open to this point.
US Open tennis ladies’s singles ultimate
No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka vs. No. 6 Jessica Pegula (Saturday, 4 p.m. ET)
No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka’s path to the ultimate
def. Priscilla Hon, 6-3, 6-3
def. Lucia Bronzetti, 6-3, 6-1
def. No. 29 Ekaterina Alexandrova 2-6, 1-6, 6-2
def. No. 33 Elise Mertens, 6-2, 6-4
def. No. 7 Qinwen Zheng, 6-1, 6-2
def. No. 13 Emma Navarro, 6-3, 7-6(2)
No. 6 Jessica Pegula’s path to the semifinal
def. Shelby Rogers 6-4, 6-3
def. Sofia Kenin, 7-6(4), 6-3
def. Jessica Bouzas Maneiro, 6-3, 6-3
def. Diana Shnaider, 6-4, 6-2
def. No. 1 Iga Swiatek, 6-2, 6-4
def. Karolina Muchova, 1-6, 6-4, 6-2
