No. 3 seed Jessica Pegula came back from a set down to defeat Emma Navarro 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 in an all-American women's quarterfinal Tuesday night at the US Open.
Pegula will face world No. 1-ranked player and two-time defending US Open champion Aryna Sabalenka in the semifinals Thursday, a rematch of 2025. Sabalenka beat Pegula in the 2024 final and again last year in the semifinals after dropping the first set.
They are the fourth pair of women in the Open era to meet in the semifinals or later in three consecutive US Opens.
The lengthy day session gave Pegula and Navarro a late start, nearly 90 minutes after the usual 7 ET beginning of the night session. Navarro was much better once it finally began, breaking Pegula's serve twice in the opening set.
Pegula found her best tennis late, winning four straight games to take control after Navarro had broken her for a 2-1 lead in the third set.
Pegula also had to rally from a set down against Leylah Fernandez in the third round. Pegula has won 19 three-set matches this season, the most on the women's tour.
At 32, she is the oldest woman in the Open era to reach multiple major semifinals in a year for the first time in her career, having also made that stage at the Australian Open in January.
ESPN Research and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
