Rybakina beats Pegula to advance to Miami SF for potential rematch with Sabalenka – Tennis Now
By Richard Pagliaro Wednesday, March 25, 2026
Image source: Miami Open Facebook
It’s a fantastic start to the 2026 season Jessica Pegula.
Dubai champion Pegula suffered a recurring nightmare today: Elena Rybakina.
At the Miami Open, sharp-server Rybakina defeated Pegula 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 to reach her 13th career WTA 1000 semifinal.
World No. 5 Pegula is 19-4 this year, with three of her four losses coming to Rybakina: 6-3, 7-6(7) in the Australian Open semifinals in January and 6-1, 7-6(4) in the Indian Wells quarterfinals earlier this month.
After playing a set today, Rybakina went to the bathroom to rest for a while, and then set off.
The Australian Open champion converted seven of 12 aces in the second set and saved all four break points she faced in the final two sets.
if Aryna Sabalenka defeats Hailey Baptiste of the United States In tonight’s final quarter-final, Rybakina and Sabalenka will face off in a sensational semi-final.
“For me, it’s not really revenge, it’s opportunity,” Rybakina told Tennis Channel’s Steve Weisman. “Definitely, I know we push each other and I want to be happy with what happened on the field at the end of the game … hopefully we can play more times.”
The powerful pair have already had two dramatic showdowns this season.
After five games of decline, Rybakina Poor performance in the Australian Open final and almost eliminated.
The tenacious Rybakina responded with an exciting title run.
Rybakina has scored six stunning results in his last seven games Sabalenka In January, she made a strong comeback with scores of 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 to win her first Australian Open title.
Earlier this month, he avenged the AO loss in a classic Indian Wells final where defending U.S. Open champion Sabalenka beat Rybakina 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(6), saving a match point. Sabalenka said learning from her failures is one of the reasons she holds the top spot.
“We changed some preparations. I mean, it’s always a workflow,” Sabalenka said. “You win, you lose.
Actually you never lose, you learn. Just try to do better next time. “
In the first set, Pegula took the initiative and hit a forehand winner, and then Rybakina broke the net with a forehand.
The confident Pegula scored with a beautiful ball control to make the score 2-0.
In the service game, Pegula, trailing 15-30, stabbed a serve on the T to win the game, then tricked a backhand return error in the second service game to gain set point.
Pegula’s backhand defensive dig expanded the score and attracted Rybakina’s counterattack, and the American team ended the 35-minute first set.
Today, Rybakina saved three break points in the fifth game of the second set. In the sixth game, Rybakina broke serve and led 4-2 in the second set.
The third-seeded Kazakhstan converted her first set point to seal the second set and force a decider.
The 6-foot-1 Rybakina showed off her soft hands in the deciding set, hitting some nice volleys under pressure.
In the third set, Rybakina broke serve first and led 2-0 after 15 draws.
Rybakina was pushed to a break point in a tense 12-minute match, but she rose to the occasion. Rybakina hit an ace on the T-shaped set to lead 4-2 in the deciding set.
It was Rybakina’s fifth straight victory over Pegula, who has won six of nine career meetings.
Two-time Grand Slam champion Rybakina improves her 2026 season record to 21-4 as she aims to thwart Sabalenka’s quest to become the fifth woman to sweep the Sunshine Doubles in the same season, joining Steffi Graf, Kim Clijsters, Victoria Azarenka and Iga Swiatek.
