Jessica Pegula secures major WTA Rankings boost as she makes history by reaching maiden Slam final at US Open
Jessica Pegula made a stunning comeback to defeat Karolina Muchova in three sets in the semi-finals at the 2024 US Open.
The 30-year-old American earned a 1-6, 6-4, 6-2 victory against the talented 28-year-old Czech on Arthur Ashe Stadium to progress to her maiden Grand Slam final.
In her first-ever major semi-final, Pegula looked on course for a convincing defeat when she trailed 1-6, 0-2, 30-40 against the world No 52.
The world No 6 crucially held in the third game of the second set to begin a surge that saw her win 12 of the next 16 games to complete a remarkable turnaround.
Pegula’s run to the final at the New York Grand Slam has ensured she will return to her career-high WTA Rankings position of world No 3 after the tournament.
She will face world No 2 and two-time reigning Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka in the US Open championship match on Saturday.
US Open News
3 stunning Jessica Pegula stats as she equals rare Serena Williams achievement
At the age of 30 years and 193 days, Pegula has become the oldest American woman to reach a maiden Grand Slam singles final in the Open Era.
In her press conference after beating Muchova, Pegula, who lost her first six major quarter-finals, admitted there had been moments when she considered her future in the sport.
“I don’t know if I thought it’s not gonna happen, but there’s definitely moments where either I didn’t want to play tennis, I didn’t really know if I wanted to do it anymore. You definitely hit those types of low moments,” explained the American.
“I’ve had several of those, but in the end I always would kind of snap back and be like, ‘okay, what am I talking about.’ I would always flip the script a little bit and I have always been good at doing that.
“And I think that’s why I’ve been able to come back from different challenges even better than before. I’ve always felt like, not that it was never gonna happen, I always think the opposite, I always felt like you know what you will figure it out eventually.
“And that’s kind of something I have told myself like I will figure it out, like one of these times. And I think that’s just maybe my quiet kind of confidence to myself that I feel like I always have.”
READ NEXT: Aryna Sabalenka becomes 5th woman to achieve amazing feat that eluded Serena Williams
