Aryna Sabalenka and Jessica Pegula share one key trait: Neither of them gives up in a match. Not easily and not ever. The WTA No. 1's penchant for this was tested in the pairs semifinal match at the Berlin Open on Saturday, however.
In the first set, Sabalenka had issues with her serve. She had five aces, but landed her first serve just 69 percent of the time, and even when she did land it, she won only 69 percent of the points. She didn't help herself with three double faults. Pegula had six break point chances, and though she converted just one, that would be enough for her to take the opening set 6-4.
The match appeared to change narrative at the beginning of the second set as it was Sabalenka's turn to get a break, this time in the second game. She even jumped out to a 5-2 lead and seemingly was headed toward an easy victory in the set to even the match. But, as said above, Pegula doesn't ever give in.
Jessica Pegula pushes past Aryna Sabalenka and into the final of the 2026 Berlin Open
In set two, the Belarusian cleaned up her serve quite a bit at the beginning, and Pegula's chances to break diminished. The American was able to hold serve to get to 3-5, and then broke Sabalenka as she attempted to serve out the set.
The second set eventually found its way to a tie-break, and Pegula had all the momentum by this point, having won four of the previous five games. To begin the tie-break, the American got a mini-break to lead 3-1, but the Berlin rain began to fall, and an extended pause in play was needed. One might have wondered at the time if the stoppage would help Aryna Sabalenka get back in the set.
It would. The Belarusian immediately set the tone with huge serves and massive groundstrokes, and she took six of the next seven points to take the tie-break and the set, and the match was back to even. Tennis fans were getting the battle they expected between two elite players.
That's partly what made the third set so stunning. Sabalenka simply melted down. She didn't win a game in the final set and even struggled to win any points against Pegula. The American's performance was astonishing.
Jessica Pegula will next play the winner of the Alexandra Eala and Linda Noskova match in the Berlin Open final on Sunday. None of the players other than Pegula has won a grass-court tournament above a WTA 125 event. That would seem to give the advantage to the American.
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