Elena Rybakina Fends Off Jessica Pegula Comeback to Reach Australian Open Final Against Aryna Sabalenka
FIGYJ
Rybakina beats Pegula to face Sabalenka final Elena Rybakina held her nerve in a dramatic women’s singles semifinal at the 2026 Australian Open , narrowly defeating Jessica Pegula 6-3, 7-6(7) on Thursday night to secure her place in the championship match against world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka . Rybakina, the fifth seed and 2022 Wimbledon champion, used her powerful serve and aggressive groundstrokes to take control early, racing to a 3-0 lead and eventually capturing the opening set 6-3. Her heavy hitting and precision helped her more than double Pegula’s winner count throughout the match. However, Pegula refused to go quietly. The American rallied in the second set, breaking Rybakina twice and pushing the contest into a tense tiebreak. Despite Rybakina holding match points earlier and Pegula saving several of them, the Kazakh star maintained her focus under pressure. After a dramatic tie-break that saw Pegula hold set points of her own, Rybakina closed it out with a clutch backhand return down the line to seal the victory after one …
