Jessica Pegula fought through an early injury scare to outlast Amanda Anisimova 6-4, 2-6, 7-6(4) in the 2026 Cincinnati Open quarterfinals headlining Thursday's WTA lineup.
The issue surfaced just two games into the match, when Pegula pulled up mid-serve with visible discomfort. She pushed through the opening set before the pain worsened, eventually taking a medical timeout while trailing 3-0 in the second.
Anisimova seized the momentum and ran away with the set, but Pegula steadied as the third wore on. A marathon tiebreak, one that left the top-ranked US star laughing mid-rally at the sheer length of the exchanges, sealed the win.
"I felt a little something on my serve," Pegula explained after the match.
"I was talking to my coach and told him what I felt and what was happening, and he was like, 'Think long term, but if you want to play you need to hit your serve.' When I started the third, I was like, I'm going to play full out. If something gets worse, maybe I stop, but it only got better."
With the result, Pegula extended her perfect record against Anisimova to 6-0 across all meetings. She also became just the second American to reach 100 WTA 1000 hard-court wins since the format launched in 2009, trailing only Serena Williams.
Pegula now faces Iga Świątek in Saturday's semifinals.
