Jessica Pegula reached the U.S. Open semifinals for the third straight year on Tuesday, rallying from a set down to defeat fellow American Emma Navarro 3-6, 6-4, 6-3.
Pegula, the highest-seeded American in the tournament, will face world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the semifinals. This marks Pegula's second appearance in the U.S. Open semifinals in three years.
Navarro took an early lead, breaking Pegula twice in the first set to secure a 6-3 victory. Pegula struggled with her serve in the initial stages of the match, facing a deficit as Navarro showed strong baseline play and secured several lengthy rallies.
The second set proved to be a turning point. Pegula, who had also dropped the first set in the third round against Leylah Fernandez, managed to break Navarro twice to win the set 6-4. "I wasn't serving my best and I was fighting a lot of demons out there today," Pegula said after the match. "Every time I come out I have to tell the negative me to shut up and compete out there. Try to problem-solve as best I can."
In the decisive third set, Navarro broke Pegula's serve to take a 2-1 lead. However, Pegula responded by breaking Navarro back and then securing another break to go up 4-2. She maintained control of the set, ultimately closing out the match on her second match point.
Navarro, who entered the match with a 3-1 record against top-10 opponents this year, showed resilience throughout the contest. Despite her strong performance, the disparity in rankings between the two players, with Pegula being the higher seed, belied the close nature of the match. The women's draw has largely seen top seeds advance, with Elena Rybakina and Coco Gauff also set to play their quarterfinal matches.