Pegula beats Anisimova to reach first Australian Open semi-finals – Tennis Now

By Richard Pagliaro Tuesday, January 27, 2026
Photo credit: Zhang Lintao/Australian OpenGetty Images

The staccato sound of footsteps echoed around Rod Laver Arena.

Jessica Pegula He barely uttered a word in this All-American Australian Open quarter-final match against Australia. Amanda Anisimovabut her feet never closed.

With her quick feet, sharp serve and precise baseline, Pegula defeated Anisimova 6-2, 7-6(1) and entered the Australian Open semi-finals for the first time.

“It’s awesome. I’ve gone deeper at the U.S. Open the last few years, but this is the first major where I’ve really broken through,” Pegula told Coco Vandeweghe during her on-field interview. “I feel like I’ve played some really good tennis here. I like the conditions here.

“Even though I lost the game, I felt like I was playing well. So I’ve been waiting for my breakthrough moment.”

Pegula, 31, made history by becoming the first woman in the Open era to reach three Grand Slam semifinals for the first time at the age of 30 or older.

Sixth-seeded Pegula didn’t drop a set in the semifinals Fifth seed Elena Rybakina.

In today’s first quarter-final, Rybakina hit her 11th ace on the T stage and swept her opponent 7-5, 6-1 Iga Swiatek style. Rybakina, like Pegula, reached the semifinals without dropping a set.

“She’s a very experienced opponent, she moves well and she keeps the ball low,” Rybakina, 6-foot-1, said of Pegula. “So it was a little difficult playing her sometimes, but I
Will try to adjust.

“Yeah, we’ll see who wins. I talk to my team. We have some plans for the game. Yeah, definitely trying to do our best.”

Rybakina, the 2022 Wimbledon champion, has faced Pegula six times in his career.

“She has a strong serve, a strong grounding, she’s cool and she plays great tennis,” Pegula said of Rybakina. “I’m going to do my best to hopefully crack her code and we’ll see how things go.”

While Pegula may not be the brightest light in American women’s tennis, she still overshadows her fellow Americans when they face off. This is Pegula’s first appearance in the AO All-American quarterfinals since 2021 when her good friend Jennifer Brady defeated her.

Pegula was playing in her 28th major, beating Anisimova for the fourth time in as many matches. Additionally, the Buffalo-born Pegula has won 14 of her past 15 matches against her countrymen — she defeated McCartney Kessler in the quarterfinals and defeated defending champion Madison Keys — while her only loss to a fellow American during that period came in the 2025 Wuhan final to former doubles partner Coco Gauff.

One of the reasons Pegula remained undefeated against the powerful Anisimova was that she was more comfortable in more areas of the court and moved better.

In fact, you could argue that Pegula’s greatest strength is that she has no glaring weaknesses. She can do it all, and today she won 64 percent of her second-serve points against one of the most destructive returners in the game on her most vulnerable shot, the second serve.

In the first game, Pegula made an ideal start and broke serve with a backhand return. Pegula hit back-to-back scoring drives, scoring seven of the first eight points to take a 2-0 lead.

The Wimbledon runner-up saved a break point in the third game with a forehand volley winner.

Although Anisimova hit the ball harder, Pegula caught the ball earlier and effectively used the fourth seed’s strength to control the ball’s direction.

Pegula hit a shrewd slice for Love-30 and broke serve again with a deep return at No. 15 to go ahead 4-1 over Anisimova.

Anisimova, who had not lost a set in the match, slapped the Wilson blades off her shoes in frustration but could not slow down the Pegula Express.

On the second set point, Pegula hit his sixth ace on the T-table to complete a near-perfect first set in 30 minutes. Pegula hit 12 game-winners and made six unforced errors.

The 2024 U.S. Open finalist set the tone with a sharp serve: Pegula won 11 of 13 first-serve points. Although Anisimova hit 70 percent of her serves, she only won seven of 16 first-serve points (44 percent) in a lopsided first set.

Anisimova fought hard in the early going of the second set and saved three break points.

In the eighth game, Anisimova hit a wonderful backhand return to the corner, creating a forehand winner for double break points. When Pegula scored on a running forehand, Anisimova broke serve for the first time at 5-3.

Undaunted, Pegula broke on the right after Anisimova double-faulted. The double-fault gap was key today: Pegula hit six aces with just two double-doubles, while Anisimova hit two aces and hit all seven double-faults in the second set.

Anisimova, 24, suffered a wild double fault early in the 11th game, one so serious that it would make most hackers cringe.

Anisimova shrugged it off and led 40-15 in the 11th game, but missed her seventh double fault in the set and faced a break point. Anisimova saved the match but failed to continue the attack after her second serve, and Pegula earned her second break point in the 85th minute when she smashed a cross-court forehand return winner.

When Anisimova broke through with a forehand, Pegula broke serve for the fourth time in the match to take a 6-5 lead.

In the semifinals, Pegula played it safe, but it paid the price. Anisimova said to herself “unbelievable” when she hit an 84-mile-per-hour backhand to help her fight back and force a decider.

The two Americans are two of the purest forwards on the WTA Tour, but have very different approaches to the ball. Anisimova tried to score with a blazing backhand, while Pegula treated every point like a woman holding a diamond – she rarely gave up a cheap point easily. On this day, Anisimova spread too many mistakes. Anisimova, who wobbled from the baseline and often found the net, committed 44 unforced errors, 23 more than Pegula, who did a great job of driving her forehand out of the corner with speed and precision.

Anisimova made three consecutive errors and with consistency and clarity, Pegula led 5-1 on the break. Pegula’s serve broke through the middle line and won multiple match points 6-1.

Anisimova scored her signature backhand goal as Pegula ended the match in the 95th minute.