"I wish I won more of them ..." - Jessica Pegula rues another missed chance against 'angry' Aryna Sabalenka with qualification hanging by a thread

After another excruciating defeat to the world number one, Jessica Pegula is once again regretting a missed chances against Aryna Sabalenka after the pair once more played out a memorable encounter in the WTA Finals, in which the Belarusian won 6-4, 2-6, 6-3.

The most notable matches between the two have both come in the last two editions of the US Open. Sabalenka defeated Pegula in the 2024 final, while a flabbergasted Pegula somehow lost the third set in their most recent semi-final clash at Flushing Meadows. This is despite the American dropping just four points on her serve in that set.

Pegula did manage to extract a big win against Sabalenka in the Wuhan Open semi-final, delivering her first defeat in the event. Sabalenka would restore order in Riyadh after coming back from a break deficit in the third set to clinch a crucial victory.

"I do think we have really great matches, memorable matches," Pegula said after another loss to the four-time Grand Slam champion. "I wish I won more of them ... even my coaches were saying, they're like, 'Whenever you guys play each other, it seems like you guys seem to bring out such a high level in each other.' So, I feel like, do I love losing? No. But I feel like, if you asked me in 10 years, like I look back and had all these super memorable matches with her. I think it's, it's pretty cool. I just wish I won more of them."

After Sabalenka started to show emotion, Pegula feared for the worse. "I felt like she just got really angry and played really well, which tends to be what she does," Pegula stated. "I feel like when she starts getting really hyped up and yelling, 'Come on,' and screaming ... that's kind of when you've activated another level to her. So I can either go one of two ways, and I felt like it just kind of went against me today, and she played well."

A win in her last match against Jasmine Paolini may not be enough for Pegula, with the pair set to face off tomorrow.

The permutation for the group is quite complex for Pegula. She ideally needs to defeat the Italian in straight sets to put her in the best position possible ahead of the final clash between Coco Gauff and Sabalenka. A win for Pegula will see her through if Sabalenka defeats Gauff. If Pegula wins in three-sets, then she will be out if Gauff defeats Sabalenka. However, if she loses in three-sets, then she could still sneak through if Sabalenka defeats Gauff in straight sets. If Pegula loses in straight sets, she is out.

"I think obviously it's going to be a bit mental knowing that I need to win the match in order to move forward in this in this event," Pegula said. "But at the same time, a lot of you know tactical stuff [is important] in order to kind of see what I can do differently from the last time that I played her.

She will be hoping for a better result than the last time they faced in the Billie Jean King Cup Final, with Paolini defeating the 31-year-old to clinch the title for Italy. "Last time she beat me [at the Billie Jean King Cup in September], so I think there's definitely going to be some things that I'm going to want to change from last time, and I think that'll be really important."