For the second year in a row, there will be a US tennis player facing Aryna Sabalenka in the final of the US Open, after Jessica Pegula wrapped up the best week of her career.
Having reached the quarterfinals in all four major tournaments, Pegula finally broke through to her first Slam semifinal and then final this week with wins over Iga Swiatek and Karolina Muchova.
A career-best run
Currently ranked No. 6 in the world, Pegula has played some of the best tennis of her career recently, reaching the quarterfinal of the Australian Open in 2021-23, and the quarterfinal of the French Open in 2022, and the US Open in 2023.
But Wednesday's straight-set win over World No. 1 Swiatek proved to be her first time breaking 'the quarterfinal curse,' with the hope of carrying the momentum all the way to the final.
Pegula had to battle back from a slow first set in her semifinal on Thursday, as Muchova took an early 6-1 lead and then a 3-0 advantage in the second set.
"I came out flat, but she was playing unbelievable," Pegula said after the match. "She made me look like a beginner. I was about to burst into tears because it was embarrassing. She was destroying me." But the 30-year-old battled back to take the second set 6-4 and rolled to a 6-2 win in the deciding third set, continuing her impressive 15-1 record since the Paris Olympics.
"I was able to find a way, find some adrenaline, find my legs," Pegula said. "At the end of the second set into the third set, I started to play how I wanted to play. It took a while but I don't know how I turned that around honestly."
Finishing the job
Pegula will face World No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka, who defeated her in Cincinnati, and who advanced past Emma Navarro in straight sets on Thursday. Sabalenka has only dropped one set this US Open, after not participating in the Olympics. The Belarusian will be looking for her second-ever Grand Slam title after coming up just short against Coco Gauff in New York in 2023.
"Hopefully I can get some revenge out here," said Pegula.
In her first-ever Grand Slam quarterfinal victory, No. 6-seed Jessica Pegula knocked No. 1 Iga Świątek out of the 2024 US Open in straight sets Wednesday night.
Now in uncharted territory, the US tennis star will aim at extending her historic run in tonight's semifinal against unseeded Czech opponent, Karolina Muchová.
Quarterfinal victory proved Pegula's dominance
The 30-year-old Pegula, who has yet to drop a set all tournament, took control of yesterday's match immediately, winning the first game on Świątek's serve — the five-time Grand Slam winner's first broken serve in 26 games.
Świątek, the 2022 US Open champion, committed 18 unforced errors in the first set. Visibly frustrated with her performance, the Polish phenom retreated to the locker room to regroup — a move that ultimately proved unsuccessful in the wake of Pegula's relentless 6-2, 6-4 victory.
After six previous Grand Slam quarterfinal attempts, Pegula celebrated, telling the crowd post-match that "there have been so many freaking times, and I just kept losing.... So thank God I was able to do it. And finally — finally! — I can say, 'Semifinalist.'"
Two US contenders will feature in tonight's semis
Pegula isn't the only contender making her Grand Slam semifinal debut tonight. Before Pegula takes the court, fellow US player No. 13 Emma Navarro will take on reigning back-to-back Australian Open champion No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka.
Sabalenka, who fell to US star Coco Gauff in last year's US Open, hopes for better luck against Navarro — the player who ousted the No. 3 defending champ last weekend.
If both Pegula and Navarro emerge victorious, Saturday's US Open final would be the first contested by two US athletes since Sloane Stephens defeated Madison Keys for the 2017 title. It would also pit two New York locals against each other on their home Grand Slam court: Pegula hails from Buffalo, NY, while Navarro was born in NYC.
How to watch the 2024 US Open semifinals
Navarro and Sabalenka will kick off tonight's Grand Slam action at 7 PM ET, with Pegula's match against Muchová immediately following. Both semis will air on ESPN.
With the US Open's first round coming to a close, both surprise performances and expected wins headlined the season's final Grand Slam heading into today's second round.
Naomi Osaka pulls off stunning upset with US Open win
Looking decidedly dangerous, 2020 US Open champ Naomi Osaka — a wild card entry at 88th in the world — beat No. 10 Jeļena Ostapenko in straight sets on Tuesday.
After stepping away for mental health reasons and the birth of her daughter, yesterday marked Osaka’s first top-10 win in over four years.
"Last year, I was watching Coco play, and I so badly wanted to step on these courts again and I didn’t know if I could," an emotional Osaka told reporters after the victory. "Just to win this match and to be in this atmosphere means so much to me."
Other past US Open champions see mixed results
Joining Osaka in the second round are fellow US Open winners Iga Świątek (2022) and Coco Gauff (2023). No. 3 Gauff aced her first match 6-2, 6-0 on Monday, but No. 1 Świątek faced a tougher challenge from Russian Kamilla Rakhimova on Tuesday.
The Polish phenom made 41 unforced errors, coming dangerously close to a forced third set before a tiebreaker allowed Świątek to continue her hunt for a sixth Grand Slam title.
Other past US Open champs weren’t so lucky, with 2019's Bianca Andreescu and 2021's Emma Raducanu joining 2017's Sloane Stephens on the ousted list.
Retiring Danielle Collins exits final Grand Slam singles tournament
While most of the 32 seeded singles players survived round one, US star Danielle Collins's run ended on Tuesday. Coming off a solid fourth-round Wimbledon exit, the world No. 11 fell to No. 49 Caroline Dolehide 1-6, 7-5, 6-4, despite defeating the fellow US pro in five of their six previous meetings.
Collins, who announced her plan to retire after this season in January, suffered an abdominal injury at the Olympics that saw her miss the Toronto and Cincinnati US Open tune-ups.
Madison Keys was just 16 when she featured in her first US Open, and the home Grand Slam holds a special place in the now-29-year-old's tennis star's heart.
"It's truly the best, greatest feeling in the entire world," Keys told JWS last week. "I think there have been some of my most heartbreaking moments in front of a US Open crowd, but also some of my absolute most favorite, literally to the point of mid-match getting goosebumps."
Ahead of today's 2024 US Open kickoff, Keys commented on the power of the New York Slam's fans, saying, "The thing I've always loved about playing at the US Open is that, literally no matter how down and out you felt, the entire crowd was still there trying to get you through and push you through."
A chaotic 2024 sets up Keys's US Open appearance
The world No. 14 has had a rollercoaster 2024 season, missing the Australian Open due to injury before making solid finishes at WTA events in Miami, Madrid, and Strasbourg.
The Illinois product then suffered an injury at Wimbledon, withdrawing in the Round of 16 while in a winning position against eventual finalist Jasmine Paolini. "As devastating as that match against Jasmine was, it was also one of my favorite matches that I've played," she explained. "Just because I feel like we were both playing so well."
Her veteran perspective allowed Keys to calmly view the injury for what it was: a simple setback. "[Wimbledon] was really reassuring that I didn't do anything wrong," Keys said. "It wasn't this big thing that we had to worry about or manage. It was just really horrible timing."
"I've started to change my perspective on success and goals," she added. "At the end of every day, being able to say, 'Okay, did I accomplish my goal? If not, what were the lessons learned? How can I move forward with them?' I think that's honestly the best way to go about success in tennis."
Prioritizing health is vital to Keys's tennis career
The 2016 Rio Olympic semifinalist pulled out of the 2024 Paris Games in an effort to maintain her wellness and gear up for the season's final Slam — a decision she says was hard-won.
"It’s one of the greatest honors to be able to play for your country and play at an Olympics, and it was honestly one of my favorite tennis moments of my life," she said. "But I'm getting older — I've been on tour for a long time. They like to call me a veteran now, and I think you have to start shifting gears a little bit to prioritize the best schedule... to be able to maintain a high level and stay healthy."
At this stage in her career, Keys notes that every little thing matters, like putting nutrition and rest first in the run-up to another US Open while also partnering with supplement companies to boost her conditioning along the way.
"It's a lot about the details — we're constantly putting our bodies under insane amounts of stress and traveling," she said. "Being able to, like, literally not get a cold, something as small as that. I've been lucky to be able to partner with Thorne — that has been my absolute go-to — because if I can do all of the things right, I'm setting myself up for success.
"The other thing is prioritizing recovery, making sure that I have my whey protein, getting a good night's sleep, and being able to recover — those things are so important. Most people would think, 'Oh, it's about time in the gym and on the court.' That's obviously really important, but it's all of the little details that create the full picture."
Recognizing that pacing her seasons and listening to her body will help protect her health and, ultimately, her career, Keys is clear on her path forward. "At this point in my career, my biggest goal is I want to play tennis for as long as I want to play tennis," she said. "I don't want some outside force to be the reason that I have to step away from the game."
The tennis season’s final Grand Slam gets underway today, when the US Open takes the hardcourt in Queens, New York. Topping last year’s record-setting prize pool by $10 million, this year’s $75 million purse means the singles champion will walk away with $3.6 million.
Led by Gauff, US women chase history
With 21 US women in this year's draw — including five ranked in the WTA’s Top 15 — domestic fans are eyeing another trophy after world No. 3 Coco Gauff became the first US teen since 1999 to win the Slam last year. This time around, Gauff is hunting more history: If she repeats, she’ll become the first back-to-back US title-winner since Serena Williams’s 2012-14 three-peat.
That said, Gauff's recent early exits from Wimbledon, the Olympics, and last week’s Cincinnati Open have placed other stars in the US Open spotlight.
A US player has yet to feature in a Grand Slam final in 2024, and contenders like world No. 6 Jessica Pegula, No. 11 Danielle Collins, and No. 14 Madison Keys are all looking to right that ship.
Top stars aim to avoid more 2024 upsets
In a season rife with upsets — from No. 26 Leylah Annie Fernandez beating No. 4 Elena Rybakina in Cincinnati to No. 24 Donna Vekić ousting Gauff at the Olympics — this Slam is anyone’s to take.
After missing Wimbledon and the Olympics, reigning Australian Open champ No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka is this year's favorite after falling to Gauff in the 2023 final, though No. 1 Iga Świątek could pose a problem in Sabalenka's hunt. The Polish phenom already knows how to win this Slam, having taken the 2022 US Open trophy. If victorious again, the 23-year-old will have six major titles to her name.
Meanwhile, Kazakhstan's No. 4 Elena Rybakina will aim to break her US Open curse of falling by the Round of 32, but a season wracked with illness, early exits, and personnel trouble could set her off course.
The field could also see a fresh face like Buffalo product Pegula or China’s 2024 Olympic gold medalist No. 7 Qinwen Zheng lifting hardware at Arthur Ashe next month.
How to watch the US Open
The 2024 US Open's main draw kicks off today at 11 AM ET, with live coverage across ABC and ESPN networks.
With the Grand Slam calendar nearing its close, stars flocked to this week's Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati to prepare for this year's US Open. Reigning Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka earned the win at the WTA 1000 event, taking down US player Jessica Pegula 6-3, 7-5 on Monday.
Fatigue impacts returning Olympic tennis players
With a uniquely crowded schedule this summer, partially due to the Paris Olympics, players entered this week with varying levels of fitness and fatigue.
China's newly crowned Olympic gold medalist Qinwen Zheng fell in the Round of 16 and Croatian silver medalist Donna Vekic failed to advance out of the Round of 64. Bronze medalist Iga Świątek reached the semifinals before losing to Sabalenka, while Pegula made this week's final match after competing for the US in Paris.
Fellow Team USA Olympians Coco Gauff and Emma Navarro fell in Cincinnati's Round of 32 and Round of 64, respectively.
Rest aided Sabalenka's Cincinnati Open win
On the other hand, Sabalenka missed Wimbledon due to a shoulder injury and, as a Belarusian athlete, did not participate in the Olympics. The world No. 3-ranked player returned to the hardcourt looking as sharp as she did at the beginning of the year, ultimately earning Monday's victory.
"This trophy means a lot, it is a really big achievement, especially coming after injury, with this fear of getting injured again," Sabalenka told press in Cincinnati. "My team did everything they could to make sure I felt as good as I can and I am proud of myself I was able to handle all of those emotions."
Tennis stars shift focus to US Open
The 26-year-old, who hit her first No. 1 ranking in September 2023 before relinquishing the title back to Świątek, will be hunting her third Grand Slam title and first at the US Open when play begins at the New York tournament next week. Sabalenka finished the 2023 US Open as the runner-up to Gauff, who earned her first major tournament title in three sets last September.
With a short turnaround and major surface change from the Paris Games, form and fitness could play a major role at this year's US Open. A number of athletes declined to participate in the Olympics in order to focus on the year's final Slam, and all eyes will be on Queens next week to see if those decisions paid off.
Breanna Stewart’s signature Puma shoe line with made a surprise appearance at the 2023 US Open.
Leylah Fernandez, a former US Open singles finalist, made a run to the quarterfinals in the doubles bracket with partner Taylor Townsend. During the run, she played in Stewart’s Stewie 2 sneakers.
The 21-year-old Canadian previously wore Asics in 2021, then switched to Swiss athletic shoe company On’s Roger Federer sneakers in 2022. She became the first player other than Federer, who is an investor in the brand, to wear the shoes on the court.
During the 2023 US Open, Fernandez made the switch to Puma’s Stewie 2, a basketball shoe. Stewart responded to Fernandez’s choice Thursday, writing on social media: “Be like water,” a reference to the blue-patterned “Water” colorway sported by the tennis star.
Stewart and the New York Liberty are gearing up for the start of their WNBA playoff run. The second-seeded Liberty are facing the seventh-seeded Washington Mystics in the first round, with the first game set for 7:30 p.m. ET Friday.
Be like water 💧 https://t.co/1lizhKgHya
— Breanna Stewart (@breannastewart) September 14, 2023
The US Open final is set, with Coco Gauff set to face off against Aryna Sabalenka for the final major title of the year.
It’s the teenage sensation against the impending world No. 1, as Sabalenka will take the top spot when the new rankings come out next week. Gauff, for her part, will move up in the rankings as well — and the 19-year-old American could even attain a career-high ranking of No. 3 with her first Grand Slam win.
Based on their head-to-head history, Gauff comes out on top, having won three matches over Sabalenka and losing just two. But their only matchup this year – at Indian Wells in March – went Sabalenka’s way, with the 25-year-old Belarusian claiming a straight-sets win.
Sabalenka and Gauff will face off for the title at 4 p.m. ET Saturday on ESPN.
Why Coco Gauff will win
When Gauff was just 15 years old and breaking onto the scene at Wimbledon, Venus Williams looked at her and declared: “The sky’s the limit.” Now, Gauff has finally, seemingly, put it all together.
Watching the 19-year-old at this year’s US Open has been like watching someone come into their own right before your eyes. You’ve seen it with Carlos Alcaraz. With Gauff, it felt inevitable. And while a coaching change has aided in Gauff’s journey, she’s been knocking on this door for a while. Last summer, she made her first Grand Slam final at the French Open but admittedly felt overwhelmed by the moment. She just hasn’t had all of the pieces snap into place – until now.
We have been spoiled by the dominance of players like Serena and Venus, Roger and Rafa. So with Gauff, there has been a sense of impatience, of wanting to see what we know Gauff is capable of – what Gauff knows what she is capable of. So: Has she finally done it? Has she finally broken through?
That’s a lot of pressure for a teenager. Many 19-year-olds are spending their Saturdays in fraternity basements or studying for midterms. Gauff will spend hers on one of tennis’ biggest stages.
This US Open final will not make or break Gauff’s career. The reality is, she has a long one ahead of her, one which likely will include a stint at the top of the world rankings. This run is only the beginning. We can’t expect her to attain the greatness of Serena Williams — but that’s because she’s Coco Gauff. She’s writing her own story, her own journey, and this, right here, is one of the chapters.
Gauff will win Saturday because she’s finally unlocked her potential. She’s been playing her opponents in a way that she hasn’t before – at times allowing them to beat themselves and knowing exactly when to apply the pressure needed. (Even if Jelena Ostapenko somehow expected more out of Gauff after a 6-0, 6-2 beatdown). She’s shown impeccable poise and wisdom throughout the tournament, a level of maturity that some 19-year-olds can only dream of. There’s never been a moment where she’s gotten too far ahead of herself.
A first round exit at Wimbledon may have been a stumbling block for others, but it pushed Gauff to be better. Since then, she’s won 17 of her last 18 matches and has taken home two WTA titles. Everything, it seems, has fallen into place, and the game is clicking. It’s one of those things that you can just see when watching her play: The way that she seems to have total control of the game, no matter what the score is. She’s everywhere on the court, all at once.
ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED!? 🤯
— wta (@WTA) September 8, 2023
#USOpen pic.twitter.com/fTsvNi4N2A
Why Aryna Sabalenka will win
Sabalenka knows she faces a tough test in the US Open final. But she’s ready for the fight.
“Going into this final, I think I just have to focus on myself and prepare myself for another fight,” she said Thursday. “You just have to be there and you have to fight for it.”
She knows the crowd will be behind Coco Gauff. But she’s not about to be the world No. 1 for no reason. On Thursday, she was blanked in the first set – the first 6-0 win in a US Open semifinal since 2013 – and down 5-3 in the second set to Madison Keys. But she never gave up the fight. She’s just the third woman in the Open Era to win a Grand Slam semifinal after losing the first set 6-0, joining Steffi Graf (1992 Roland Garros) and Ana Ivanovic (2008 Australian Open).
“I was all over the place,” Sabalenka said after the match. “I was just, like, ‘What can I do?’ Like, she’s playing unbelievable, just, like, crushing everything. I’m not able to do anything; I had zero control in the match.
“I just [kept] telling myself, I mean, ‘OK, there is going to be days like this [where] somebody’s going to just play their best tennis. You just have to keep trying, keep staying there and keep pushing it. Maybe you’ll be able to turn around this game.'”
Sabalenka’s biggest opponent has always been herself. And on Thursday, she won that battle, winning a tiebreak in the second set and again in the third to reach her first US Open final. Already a Grand Slam champion after winning the Australian Open title earlier this year, Sabalenka has been on a roll. Semifinal appearances at the French Open and Wimbledon were both career bests. She’s the first player since Serena Williams in 2016 to reach the semifinals in all four majors in the same season.
There’s not been anyone better on the tour this year than Sabalenka, not even current No. 1 Iga Swiatek.
On paper, Sabalenka is the better player. She’s weathered the biggest tests of her career and come out ahead. By no means will Saturday’s final be easy, and in fact it might prove to be one of the best major finals of the year, but Sabalenka has what it takes to weather whatever Gauff may throw at her and take home her second title of the year.
What a turnaround for Aryna Sabalenka! pic.twitter.com/IGO1JWUYuv
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 8, 2023
Coco Gauff has one regret that she may never be able to get over.
The 19-year-old made her first US Open final with a straight-sets win over Karolina Muchova, becoming the youngest American to reach the final at the Grand Slam since Serena Williams did it in 1999 at age 17. Williams went on to win the first of her 23 major singles titles.
So it seems a little bit like fate that, one year after Williams retired at the US Open, another American is following in her footsteps. Gauff became the first American teenager to reach the US Open semifinals since Williams in 2001.
And both Gauff and U.S. men’s player Ben Shelton, 20, have made more history. This year marked the first time multiple Americans aged 20 or younger have made it to the semifinals of the same Grand Slam since Venus and Serena Williams at Wimbledon in 2000.
Yet while some might see Gauff as the face and the future of American tennis, she is in excellent company. At this year’s US Open, multiple Americans have made deep runs — including 28-year-old Madison Keys, who lost to Aryna Sabalenka in the other semifinal.
“I don’t think I’m carrying American tennis. I don’t think I will,” Gauff told ESPN. “We have so many compatriots who are doing well.
“Serena is Serena. She’s the GOAT. I’d hope to do half of what she did. But I’m not gonna compare myself to her. She’s someone I look up to. Being in the same stat line as her means a lot to me. She’s my idol.”
Still, Gauff – who never once played against Williams professionally – has just one regret.
“The only regret I’ll have for the rest of my life is not being able to play her,” she said. “There were so many tournaments where if we won an extra round and didn’t lose, I would’ve played her. I’m still happy to just be a product of her legacy.”
Caroline Wozniacki is back playing tennis – and she’s back to winning.
In just her third event since coming out of retirement, Wozniacki downed world No. 11 Petra Kvitova at the US Open. It’s her first top-20 win as a mom, and her first win over a top-20 opponent since beating Kvitova in 2018.
“This couldn’t be better,” Wozniacki said after the match. “It’s a dream come true. If you had asked me three years ago, I would have said I’ll never be back here, playing on this court. To be back and to beat the world No. 11 feels very, very special.”
Caroline Wozniacki wipes happy tears away after getting her 1st top 20 win as a mom over Petra Kvitova.
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) August 31, 2023
She was always one of the brightest lights on tour.
A retirement & 2 children later & nothing’s changed.
Thanks for coming back, Sweet Caroline. 🥹❤️ pic.twitter.com/tBQdjrpGwq
She’s now into the third round at Flushing Meadows, a place where she’s found success throughout her career. She finished as the runner-up at the US Open in 2009, when she lost to Kim Clijsters, and again in 2014, when she lost to good friend Serena Williams.
Her 122 major match wins in her career is the fourth-most among active women, behind Venus Williams, Victoria Azarenka and Kvitova, according to ESPN Stats & Information.
Wozniacki plans to hang out with her kids Thursday before preparing to face Jennifer Brady in the third round Friday.
“I love New York. I love this court. I love everything about this city and playing here,” Wozniacki said. “Absolutely, as soon as I came here over a week ago, I already — instantly — felt so comfortable on these courts and knew that I could play some great tennis and I would be dangerous in the draw.”
She also noted that she was “thrilled” to once again have the opportunity to play in Arthur Ashe Stadium.
“I didn’t think I was ever going to play on one of those courts again in the US Open, especially a night session,” she said. “It just feels pretty incredible to be out there and winning a match like that.”