The last time Aryna Sabalenka and Jessica Pegula squared off, Sabalenka scored a 7-5, 7-5 victory in the 2024 US Open final, winning a marquee matchup of the highest quality to claim her first US Open crown. On Saturday, two of the WTA Tour's leading ladies will do it all over again, this time in Miami, where both are first-time finalists.
World No. 1 Sabalenka has advanced to the WTA 1000 final without dropping a set, beating defending champ Danielle Collins, Olympic gold medalist Zheng Qinwen and two-time major finalist Jasmine Paolini along the way.
The fourth-seeded Pegula battled past two rising stars to secure her final place. Against 2021 US Open champion Emma Raducanu, 22, Pegula dominated the final set in a 6-4, 6-7(3), 6-2 victory on Wednesday. On Thursday, she similarly denied a comeback bid from 2022 US Open junior champ Alexandra Eala, 19, to notch a 7-6(3), 5-7, 6-3 result.
Saturday's final will mark the ninth meeting between Sabalenka and Pegula. Sabalenka will enter with a 6-2 head-to-head advantage after edging Pegula in both the Cincinnati and US Open finals last season.
"I do feel like I'm serving a little bit better," Pegula said, comparing her current form to her play in those previous meetings. "Hopefully I can serve well Saturday. I think that's something you have to do against her. She returns really well.
"I have been returning well, so I always feel like even though she's one of the best servers in the world, I can give myself a chance maybe to break her. But she's tough. She's playing with a lot of confidence. She likes, I think, a little bit quicker hard court, as well, playing one-two punch, playing an aggressive game."
Pegula beat Sabalenka in group play at the 2023 WTA Finals (where the American went on to reach the final) and in their first meeting at the 2020 Cincinnati event held in New York during the COVID-19 pandemic. She was in position to force a deciding set last year in the US Open final, but fell victim to a scintillating finishing burst from Sabalenka.
"I had chances at the US Open, up 5-3 in that second set. Who knows what would have happened there," she reflected. "I definitely know I'll get some chances if I play some good tennis hopefully, and I will try to do my best of trying to take advantage of that, learning from the last couple of matches."
An in-form Sabalenka awaits. The three-time Grand Slam champion cruised past Paolini, 6-2, 6-2, on Thursday, striking 31 winners to just 12 unforced errors in a dominant display.
"I'd definitely say that this was one of my best matches in the season so far," she assessed, speaking before Pegula's evening win against Eala. "I felt like I was in the zone."
Watch highlights from the 2024 US Open women's singles final between Sabalenka and Pegula:
