“I learned a lot of what I needed to do from the US Open": Jessica Pegula reveals keys to ending Sabalenka's 20−0 Wuhan streak

Jessica Pegula revealed the keys to overcoming Aryna Sabalenka after an epic Wuhan Open semifinal in which the American broke the Belarusian's 20-0 streak at the last WTA 1000 of the season. Sabalenka was crowned Queen of Wuhan in 2018, ’19, and ’24 and seemed practically invincible in the Chinese city.

However, she ran into a resilient Pegula, who came back from a set down and ended up taking the victory 2-6, 6-4, 7-6. “Well, you know, happy to be in the final,” commented Pegula. “Happy to, you know, beat such an amazing player such as Aryna. We’ve had so many, you know, tough matches, and I feel like, you know, she’s always been able to raise her level against me when I felt like it’s been close."

“So I’m glad that today it kind of flipped. I think I was able to raise my level in times when I really needed it. You know, it was tight closing it out, but, you know, I just hung in there and kept giving myself chances, and I think did a great job of adapting my strategy and my play based on how the match was going and how I was feeling."

It was an especially complicated clash for Pegula, who had a poor 2-8 record against Sabalenka, including four consecutive losses in their last duels. This time, however, the American managed to overcome her rival's favoritism, specifically recalling her past experiences facing the 4-time Grand Slam champion. “I learned a lot of what I needed to do, and you know, from the US Open, I thought I played a great match,” analyzed Pegula. “I honestly thought she just was able to play some really big shots and really big moments, and that’s too good, and there’s not much you can do."

“But I felt like every time I played her, I’ve figured it out a little bit more, and it’s just because I figure it out doesn’t mean I’m going to win every time, but I think it puts me in a good position,” the former World No. 3 added. “And when you can put yourself in a decent position and then hopefully play well that day and execute most of it, you know, that’s kind of all you can ask for, especially against, you know, the best player in the world right now.”

In the final, Pegula will face her compatriot and former doubles partner Coco Gauff, whom she has faced 6 times. In this case, Pegula dominates the head-to-head 4-2 (3-1 on hardcourts), and she will seek to claim her 4th WTA 1000 title against Gauff. “It’ll be interesting,” analyzed Pegula. “I don’t think we’ve ever played in a final. And yeah, I guess we haven’t played since Riyadh, and that didn’t go very well for me."

“She crushed me, but obviously, she was playing pretty high level that week. So, yeah, it’s interesting,” Pegula added. “We haven’t played each other in a while, and it’s but, I mean, you know, we’ve practised a few times here and there when we’re home because we live in the same area, but it’ll, I mean, yeah, it’ll be interesting to see how we’re both playing."

“It’s funny when you haven’t played someone for a while, and, you know, some people, you play all the time, so you kind of know what to expect,” added the 31-year-old star. “But we know each other’s games so well. I mean, we know each other so well."

“We know each other’s teams really well. So, I mean, there are no secrets. We know what we’re both going to try and do,” she stated. “And I think, you know, it just comes down to executing whatever the game plan is, and hoping for both, you know, both of us, that it works either, either way, and just go out there and battle.”