(September 8, 2026) FLUSHING MEADOWS, NY – In an all-American quarterfinal face-off at the 2026 US Open, No. 3 seed Jessica Pegula beat No. 26 seed Emma Navarro, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 to reach the final four for the third straight year. She’ll face No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka for a chance to reach the final.
Pegula talked about her frustration in the early part of the match.
“I didn’t feel like during the points I was playing that bad. It was just serve and return. Like serve, return, first ball.
“I think both of those scenarios, for me, she was just doing a better job. I feel like that’s something that I do really well.
“So I just was kind of frustrated that I wasn’t really quite committing. I was kind of just all over the place. Whether that had to do with nerves, the way she was playing, or conditions being a little bit slower, or just me having a bad day, I just felt like I wasn’t doing that very well.
“So for me, that was definitely what I was most frustrated with and what I felt like had to change going into the second set if I wanted a chance to get back into the match and a chance to put myself in a winning position. So I’m glad that I was able to acknowledge that and change that and do it much better in the next couple of sets.”
“I think when I put things into perspective, which is hard to do not that long after coming off the court — yeah, if you had told me at the beginning of this year that I would be making a quarterfinal run in a Grand Slam, I’d be pretty happy with that.
“So I think it will take me a couple of days to truly appreciate that, but yeah, it’s disappointing to lose, especially when I felt like I was in a good enough position to win and couldn’t get it done,” said Navarro.
“But, yeah, super proud of the run I’ve had these last couple of weeks or so. Makes me excited for the future as well.”
“It was super back and forth.” Navarro added. “I think there was a minute there where I felt like I kind of had her number. Then probably she felt the same about me for a little while and probably at the right times.
“Yeah, I think it was super back and forth. I don’t know, one of us would get a little bit of momentum, and then the other would step up and play a good point.
“Yeah, I think Jess plays very tactical. I kind of tried to match that a little bit and be, yeah, just as smart tactically as I could today. Yeah, I don’t know. Just a lot of back and forth.”
“I think I didn’t serve as well in the third set, which makes a big difference. Couldn’t really tell you why. Just happens sometimes.”
The Buffalo, New York native is one of four women who could reach No. 1 in the world. She can do it if she wins the title and Elena Rybakina doesn’t get past the semifinals.
Pegula has now beaten Navarro four times in a row.
Pegula will be playing Sabalenka in her semifinal.
“I saw a bit of Aryna-Noskova. I watched the ten-point tiebreaker because I was about to leave to go to site, and I was like, I’ve got to see the ending of this. I thought it was great tennis,” said Pegula.
“I think it’s fun to look at it like a rivalry,” Pegula said. “I think that’s what kind of motivates me. Honestly, I feel like that’s what’s going to motivate her probably that I beat her the last couple of times. I’m sure she’s going to look at those couple of matches and what she needs to do different.
‘I think for me, I’m going to try to pull what I did well from those few matches, but then also be aware that she’s a top, No. 1, top player, she’s No. 1 in the world. Her and her team I feel like do a really great job of looking at what they need to improve, what other players are doing against her, and I think that’s the reason she is No. 1, because they’ve done such a great job at that.
“So at the same time, I’m going have to be very aware of maybe something different that they’re going to have to or want to do going into this match. But I mean, of course, it’s a new match. We’re going to go out and play our games and just kind of see how each other is playing, I’m sure, and what’s going to unfold. If everything is working perfectly for her, maybe she feels like she doesn’t they’d to change anything. Same going for me.
“To me, I think it’s fun to look at the rivalry we’ve had. She’s gotten me here the last couple of years. I have been able to beat her a few times, maybe on a smaller stage, so I think that’s going to be kind of a hurdle for me to get over.
“But at the same time, I think it’s fun. We’ve challenged each other. I know that she’s definitely pushed me to become a better player, so I always respect and appreciate that aspect of our rivalry.”
More to follow…
