“Revenge will be cool” – Pegula vs. Sabalenka in the semifinals of the U.S. Open – Tennis Now
Chris Oddo | @thefanchild | Tuesday, September 2, 2025
NEW YORK – Jessica Pegula rediscovers her position at the right time. After a tough summer, she questioned her process and results, the fourth seed strides forward on the streets of the U.S. Open, reaching the semi-finals of the U.S. Open for the second consecutive year.
The turnaround came after Wimbledon’s first round exit left her rebend. Pegula arrived in London with confidence after winning the championship at Bad Homburg until she looked at Iga Swiatek, who had just defeated Iga Swiatek in the final and continued to cancel the trophy.
“Wiangnet is not very good,” Pegula admitted. “After Wimbledon, I was a little frustrated because obviously I won Bad Homburg and I did a great job, and then of course you’ll see the IGA keep winning Wimbledon. I feel like I’m playing well and there’s no translation at all in the first round.”
The loss of the Wimbledon Elisabetta player continued, and the frustration continued to the tough summer court, with Pegula losing three of her five games before New York. She was trapped in a cycle of overthinking and tinkering – even testing new strings, and she found herself standing out from the simplicity that had been stable for a long time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwdep8juzes
“So, it’s back to the drawing board,” Pegula told reporters. “I had to spend a few weeks at home, but I think in the first few weeks I might think of something that I felt I needed to do better on a tough field, not just back to the way I knew how I could win a lot of games. Then I lost some tough games. I did a lot of different things. I was trying a different string. I did a lot of things.” I did a lot of things. ”
Pegula explains that the key to her turnaround in New York is to go back to the foundation.
“I think our goal is just to get back on track and simplify things. So, a lot of things have happened since Wimbledon,” she said. “There are a lot of ups and downs, a lot of interesting practices, even a week before that, even before that. So the goal is to simplify things and get me back on the game, and I feel like we’ve been able to do that. So I’m really happy to meet the challenge, I guess.”
After two-time champion Barbora Krejcikova on Tuesday 6-3 6-3 for the past two-time champion, Pegula once again found herself back to familiar territory and once again entered a major semifinal.
“I mean, even in the second week of that time, the semifinals were a huge achievement,” she said. “That’s my biggest achievement last year to be ahead of the quarterfinals. Now I can say I’ve done it twice.”
Next came a determined challenge: a rematch with World One Aryna Sabalenka, who beat Pegula in last year’s U.S. Open final. This time, the Americans said she would step into the court with a different mindset.
“Obviously, I think it would be cool to be able to take revenge,” she said. “I think I’m back this year from a different perspective because he knows he’s not doing well and really enjoys the fact that, for example, it’s cool and I’ve got a lot of support here and I’ve gotten a lot of support. So it’s so great.
“I think if I play Aryna again, I might have that mentality, rather than being so focused on what I have to do so strongly, rather than competing, rather than enjoying the crowd more, enjoying the crowd more, and enjoying that I am in this position again that maybe in another final, I will play the best player in the world.
