Jessica Pegula becomes sixth tennis star to confirm place in WTA Finals after impressive comeback win in Wuhan

Jessica Pegula has been confirmed as the sixth player to qualify for the WTA Finals in Riyadh later this year, establishing herself once more as one of the best players in the world with her set to make a fourth consecutive appearance in the Finals.

She joins Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff, Amanda Anisimova, and Madison Keys in a heavy dominated American field set to take to the court in Riyadh. Pegula confirmed qualification after coming from a set down to defeat Katerina Siniakova 2-6, 6-0, 6-3 in the Wuhan Open.

It has been a tricky period for the world number six, with just one of her singles matches on the Asian swing not going three sets. That was her opening tie in the China Open, getting the better of Aija Tomljanovic. Since then, she has experienced seven clashed that has gone the distance. Despite this, she has managed to win six of them, only losing out to Linda Noskova in the semi-final in Beijing. Pegula has reached another semi-final in China with the world number one in her way of a spot in the final, as Aryna Sabalenka looking to continue her perfect form in Wuhan, having lifted the title in her three appearances.

It has been yet another solid year for Pegula. She has made five finals and accumulated three titles, but inconsistent form on the big stage has held her back slightly, being the reason why her qualification for this event has not already been confirmed.

She started the year by reaching the final in Adelaide, losing out to fellow countrywoman Keys. While the 30-year-old went on to win her maiden Grand Slam in Melbourne, Pegula was unable to make it past the third round. She backed that up with a quarter-final in the Qatar Open before an early exit in Dubai halted her progress. She clinched her first title of the year in Austin, coming out on top against McCartney Kessler to win the ATX Open.

Now with the taste of glory she looked to back that win up in Miami as she reached the final of the WTA 1000 event, but lost in straight sets to Sabalenka. She recovered from this disappointment in fine fashion, prevailing in the Charleston Open. The American endured a barren run on clay before suffering a shock defeat to Lois Boisson in the last-16 of Roland Garros.

Pegula competed in three grass events, with mixed results. While she left the German Open at the first opportunity, she went on to defeat a resurging Iga Swiatek in straight sets in the Bad Homburg Open, earning her third title of 2025, and last up to date. A shock first round exit in Wimbledon culminated this before he headed back to the States for the North American hardcourt swing.

After another first round exit in Washington, Pegula traversed to Montreal as he eyed up a third Canadian Open title in a row. Unfortunately, her progress was halted in the third round by Latvian Anastasija Savastova. She was also looking to back up the Cincinnati Open final in 2024 but again failed to find a route past the third round. She returned back to form in the US Open, not dropping a set on her way to face Sabalenka in the semi-finals in a repeat of the previous year's final. Pegula took the first set before the Belarusian brought the tie level. Despite only dropping four points on serve in the third set, Pegula was unable to get over the line, suffering more disappointment against Sabalenka.

The last time Pegula succeeded over the four-time Grand Slam champion was back in the Tour Finals in 2023, where she defeated Sabalenka enroute to the final before being destroyed by Swiatek. Now with the pressure to qualify firmly lifted off her, she can put all her energy in her Wuhan Open campaign, citing a fourth singles WTA 1000 title.