Jessica Pegula’s bid for her first Grand Slam win will have to wait a little longer. Despite playing great tennis again, Pegula fell short of winning her first major championship, losing in straight sets (6-3, 7-6) to Elena Rybakina in the semifinals of the 2026 Australian Open.
It was a familiar story for Rybakina, who had defeated opponents with overwhelming serves in this tournament. Rybakina had six aces against Pegula, but it was actually a disappointing result as Rybakina had 11 aces against Iga Swiatek and 10 aces against Elise Mertens en route to the semi-finals.
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However, these aces proved to be enough to overtake the American players, including some mistakes by Pegula.
This is the second time in her career that Rybakina has reached the Australian Open final. She accomplished that feat in 2023, but that time she lost to Aryna Sabalenka.
Rybakina, 26, has one Grand Slam win in her career. She won at Wimbledon in 2022, defeating Ons Jabour in the final.
It’s been a great tournament so far for Rybakina, but she hinted she might take some time off the court ahead of Saturday’s final.
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For Pegula, the loss marks another late major loss. Since 2021, Pegula has been playing his best tennis. During that time, she reached six quarterfinals, two semifinals, and one final at major tournaments. She peaked at No. 3 in the singles rankings but is still aiming for her first Grand Slam title.
Pegula has reached the semifinals in each of the last two majors, so a third appearance will likely be the charm when he plays at Roland Garros in May.
Aryna Sabalenka advances to Australian Open final again
The following year, Aryna Sabalenka appeared in the Australian Open final again. The Belarusian defeated Elina Svitolina in straight sets (6-2, 6-3) on Thursday to book her ticket to the final for the fourth consecutive year.
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There were moments early on when it looked like Sabalenka might be thrown out of the match. With Sabalenka leading at 2-1 in the first set, she was called for a noisy interference after a return.
Sabalenka had a few words with the referee about the call, but it didn’t distract her from her ultimate mission. She made quick work of Svitolina in the semifinals and was able to get back on track.
With this win, Sabalenka will seek her third Australian Open title in the past four years. She won both the 2023 and 2024 competitions, but lost in the 2025 final to American Madison Keys.
However, Sabalenka’s opponent will be familiar to her this time, having previously met in the Australian Open final. In 2023, Sabalanka defeated Rybakina in three full sets. Sabalenka actually fell behind in this match, dropping the first set to Rybakina, but recovered in the final two sets to win and win her first Australian Open title.
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It may be tough for Sabalenka to win back-to-back matches in the final. Despite being the women’s number one, Sabalenka has struggled against Rybakina in the past. Sabalenka has a close record against Rybakina with 8 wins and 6 losses in 14 head-to-head fights.
That should make for an exciting match when both players take to the court in Saturday’s women’s final.
