Jessica Pegula faces Aryna Sabalenka in the US Open women’s singles final.
Home favourite Pegula has delivered her best performance at a grand slam, going past the quarter-finals for the first time, and she now has a chance to replicate the achievements of fellow American Coco Gauff last year in delivering a title for the New York crowd.
But she will face a tough test from World No 2 Sabalenka, who is bidding for her third major title, having won the Australian Open twice – including earlier this year. Sabalenka was also at the runner-up at the US Open last year, as Gauff came from behind to win.
Pegula and Sabalenka know each other well having faced off seven times, with the Belarusian winning the most recent match between the two in the Cincinnati Open final last month.
It’s a big weekend for the Americans at the US Open, with home players through to the finals of both the women’s and men’s singles for the first time since 2002. Tomorrow, Taylor Fritz will face World No 1 Jannik Sinner for a shot at his first grand slam title.
Follow all the latest build-up, score updates and reaction from the US Open women’s final below:
Jessica Pegula faces Aryna Sabalenka in the women’s singles final at the US Open | live on Sky Sports Tennis
Sixth seed Pegula makes her first grand slam appearance after comeback win over Karolina Muchova in the semi-final
World number two Sabalenka bids to claim her third grand slam title, having won the Australian Open twice
22:04 , Jamie Braidwood
Suddenly we’re into tiebreak territory, which is not where I thought we were going when Sabalenka broke to lead 5-2.
Pegula paints the line with a crisp angled forehand winner, getting herself to 30-30. Double fault from Sabalenka! Her third of the match, and she whacks her racket off the court!
30-40, and break point: but Sabalenka survives with a brave backhand winner! She is putting everything on the line.
Deuce.
22:00 , Jamie Braidwood
Pegula is making sure she’s getting a high first-serve percentage and it’s paying off: the American is looking really strong behind her first serve now, and jumps to 40-0 as Sabalenka fires her latest error before changing her racket.
40-15, but Pegula misses on the forehand with the court wide open. Suddenly there’s tension again but Pegula finds depth and Sabalenka nets.
5-5! Three games in a row for Pegula.
21:57 , Jamie Braidwood
Wow. Mark that game with a red pen.
A series of big errors from Sabalenka as she served for the set. Pegula managed just to hang in the rallies. She fights on after breaking back in this opening set, and raises her arms asking for more support!
21:55 , Jamie Braidwood
Huge hitting from Sabalenka, working Pegula from side to side and then powering through.
But incredible defence from Pegula on 15-15! Sabalenka had a drive volley but Pegula recovered to lift the defensive lob, and Sabalenka found the net!
15-30. Pegula finds the block return, but then nets on the backhand! She can’t afford misses like that, after working herself into the point.
30-30. Double fault from Sabalenka! Ooff.
Break point Pegula. Sabalenka shuts the door with a massive forehand winner from inside the baseline, but then nets on the forehand on deuce!
These are key moments now. Back to break point!
Sabalenka can’t find her first serve… Pegula digs out the return… Sabalenka misses on the forehand!
Pegula stays alive!
21:50 , Jamie Braidwood
Pegula forces Sabalenka to serve it out with a strong hold. The American found her first serve there – now she needs to go big on the returns. Can Sabalenka do it?
21:47 , Jamie Braidwood
Quite an untidy game from Sabalenka, veering from hot to cold point to point as Pegula targets the second serve.
Pegula digs in to get to deuce, dragging Sabalenka to six minutes in the longest game of the set so far, but Sabalenka finds her first serve and holds with an ace.
Sabalenka has won just two of nine second serves so far, while Pegula winning 0/4 on hers. The Belarusian moves a game away from the set.
21:40 , Jamie Braidwood
Wow. Brutal power from Sabalenka, right through the middle of the court to blast Pegula away. A big return is followed by a series of blows to get to 15-40 and two breaks points.
And Pegula concedes with a forehand that drifts long. Sabalenka breaks with her third game in a row and will now serve for a 5-2 lead.
21:35 , Jamie Braidwood
Sabalenka responds to a double fault on 30-30 with her fastest serve of the tournament. Pegula fires wide on the forehand and the Belarusian edges ahead with the first set on serve after that early trade of breaks.
21:31 , Jamie Braidwood
There are some vicious forehands from both players already, as Sabalenka lands a big forehand winner against the Pegula serve to get to 0-30.
Pegula conjures an ace out wide, before Sabalenka nets on the backhand. 30-30, and this time Pegula finds an excellent angle on the forehand!
In response, Sabalenka throws herself at the forehand winner crosscourt and erupts behind the baseline after getting to deuce.
A loose forehand from Pegula gives Sabalenka a look a break point. And Sabalenka takes it: almost a copy of the last game, with a brutal backhand return into Pegula’s feet.
All square.
21:27 , Jamie Braidwood
Monster return from Pegula on the forehand on 15-15, eventually winning the baseline rally. 15-30, and Pegula finds a return on a big Sabalenka serving, and hangs in the rally to force the miss on the forehand!
Now then. Two break points on 15-40.
WHAT A RETURN! A bomb from Pegula off the forehand side, aimed right at Sabalenka’s feet!
The early break goes to the American.
21:24 , Jamie Braidwood
Some crisp hitting early on from Pegula, who drops the first point on serve but then wins the next four to hold. Sabalenka would want a backhand slice back on 0-15, as it dropped into the bottom of the net.
It’s clear the crowd are fully behind Pegula tonight. Overwhelmingly so.
21:21 , Jamie Braidwood
Pegula lands a stunning forehand winner on the opening point of the match, which is followed by a forehand miss from Sabalenka.
In previous years, Sabalenka might have felt the pressure on 0-30. Instead, she rattles off four big serves to take the hold without another rally.
The rain is pounding on the roof overhead. It’s really loud at court level.
21:15 , Jamie Braidwood
The roof is closed on Arthur Ashe tonight – which is a good call as the heavens have just opened in Flushing Meadows!
It should be an electric atmosphere, especially if Pegula can really give this is a go. Sabalenka is the favourite, just as she was against Coco Gauff last year.
We know what that went: can Pegula pull off the same trick to keep the US Open in American hands? Sabalenka will serve to start.
*denotes next server
21:10 , Jamie Braidwood
Pegula and Sabalenka skip through their pre-match tunnel interviews without revealing too much that they haven’t already said before tonight’s final.
And here we go! Both Pegula and Sabalenka walk out onto the biggest court in tennis wearing headphones – Pegula, ahead of her first grand slam final, seems to realise this is a moment she should remember, so lowers them around her neck before waving to the crowd.
James Keothavong is tonight’s chair umpire, as former US Open champion Kim Clijsters, who I think is joined by her eldest daughter, join in with the pre-match photo.
Clijsters, of course, returned to win the US Open after giving birth.
21:06 , Jamie Braidwood
Seven-time F1 world champion Lewis Hamilton and US basketball star Steph Curry are among the sporting icons in the house tonight.
We’re almost ready to go.
21:02 , Jamie Braidwood
With Jessica Pegula and Taylor Fritz, this is the first time an American woman and man are both in the finals of the US Open since 2002. That was when Serena Williams and Pete Sampras were champions.
It could be a big US Open weekend.
There is going to be an opening ceremony before tonight’s US Open women’s final, which feels a bit unnecessary but there we are.
21:00 , Jamie Braidwood
Aryna Sabalenka ahead of playing her second US Open final in row, following defeat to Coco Gauff last year.
“I had really tough lessons here in the past, really as I think I had so many opportunities but I didn’t use them for different reasons. I wasn’t ready. Then I got emotional. Then I just couldn’t handle the crowd.
“So many times I felt like I just missed the opportunity, and every time I come back here I really enjoy being in New York.
“I enjoy these courts, I enjoy the crowd, I enjoy playing in this beautiful stadium in front of the crowd. I enjoy the city, the time on the court.
“Every time I come back here, I have this positive thinking, like, ‘Come on, maybe this time’.
“Every time I’m hoping that one day I’ll be able to hold that beautiful trophy.
“The tough losses never made me feel depressed or think of not coming back to the tournament.
“It’s only motivated me to come back and to try one more time, try harder and maybe, like, work harder on some things which maybe didn’t work in the past.
“I’m still hoping to hold that beautiful trophy.”
20:55 , Jamie Braidwood
Jessica Pegula on what it would mean to win the US Open:
“It’s amazing. It’s a childhood dream. It’s what I wanted when I was a kid,” she said.
“It’s a lot of work, a lot of hard work put in. You couldn’t even imagine how much goes into it.
“It would mean the world to me to win, obviously. I’m just happy to be in a final, but obviously I come here to want to win the title.
“If you would have told me at the beginning of the year I’d be in the finals of the US Open, I would have laughed so hard, because that just was where my head was, was not thinking that I would be here.
“So to be able to overcome all those challenges and say that I get a chance at the title on Saturday is what we play for as players, let alone being able to do that in my home country here, in my home slam. It’s perfect, really.”
20:50 , Jamie Braidwood
And here’s Jessica Pegula’s path to the US Open final. Afer losing her first six grand slam quarter-finals, she defeated Iga Swiatek before her comeback victory over Karoline Muchova. Like Sabalenka, Pegula has lost just one set and has only played one tiebreak.
R1: vs Shelby Rogers 6-4 6-3
R2: vs Sofia Kenin 7-6 (4) 6-3
R3: vs Jessica Bouzas Maneiro 6-3 6-3
R4: vs Diana Shnaider [18] 6-4 6-2
QFs: vs Iga Swiatek [1] 6-2 6-4
SFs: vs Karolina Muchova 1-6 6-4 6-2
20:40 , Jamie Braidwood
As we get closer to the players walking out onto Arthur Ashe, the biggest stadium court in tennis, here’s how Aryna Sabalenka reached her second US Open final.
The second seed has dropped just one set so far, and has played just one tiebreak.
R1: vs Priscilla Hon 6-3 6-3
R2: vs Lucia Bronzetti 6-3 6-1
R3: vs Ekaterina Alexandrova [29] 2-6 6-1 6-2
R4: vs Elise Mertens [33] 6-2 6-4
QFs: vs Qinwen Zheng [7] 6-1 6-2
SFs: vs Emma Navarro [13] 6-3 7-6 (2)
20:20 , Jamie Braidwood
Records on the line
If Sabalenka wins: First player to win Australian Open and US Open titles in same year since Angelique Kerber (2016)
First player to win US Open after losing the final the previous year since Justine Henin (2007)
Only second player since Serena Williams to win two grand slams in the same season – after Iga Swiatek won French Open and US Open in 2022.
If Pegula wins: First player to beat World No 1 and World No 2 on way to winning US Open title since Maria Sharapova (2006)
20:00 , Jamie Braidwood
The head-to-head is firmly in Sabalenka’s favour: she has won five of her seven meetings against Pegula, including in straight sets in last month’s Cincinatti Open final.
“She served unbelievable, and I felt like I still had chances in that match,” Pegula said. “So hopefully she doesn’t serve that good Saturday. Maybe a little bit less would be nice.
“But I think I know that I can have a game that can possibly frustrate her.”
19:40 , Jamie Braidwood
Aryna Sabalenka has established herself as the dominant force in the women’s game on hard courts, reaching her second US Open final in a row while also winning back-to-back Australian Opens. At the grand slams, she has won 26 of her last 27 matches on hard surfaces.
However, that one defeat come in last year’s US Open final to Coco Gauff – where the occasion of playing an American in the final got the better of her. Sabalenka was a set up and closing in on the title before her game unravelled and Gauff took advantage.
“Last year it was very tough experience, very tough lesson,” Sabalenka said this week.
“I wasn’t ready. Then I got emotional. Then I just couldn’t handle the crowd.”
However, the World No 2 was untroubled by American Emma Navarro in the semi-finals, 6-3 7-6.
19:20 , Jamie Braidwood
Pegula reached the US Open final by defeating World No 1 Iga Swiatek in the quarter-finals and then producing an incredible comeback against Karolina Muchova in the semi-finals.
Muchova won seven games in a row to lead by a set and break, but Pegula rallied back to claim a 1-6 6-4 6-2 victory.
“It comes down to really small moments that flip momentum, I came out really flat, she was playing unbelievable, she mae me look like a beginner,” Pegula said.
“I wanted to burst into tears, it was embarrassing. She was destroying me, I was able to find a way, get some adrenalin and find my legs and then I started to play how I wanted to play.
“It took a while but I don’t know how I turned that around.”
19:00 , Jamie Braidwood
Pegula did not crack the top 100 of the WTA rankings until her seventh year on the Tour. Once she did, she progressed to World No 3 and has stayed in the top-10 ever since, despite struggling with injuries at the start of the season. She has reached her first grand slam final at the age of 30, after losing her first six appearances in quarter-finals.
“I hope I can be an inspiration to other players who feel like they are stuck or they are not getting better, that you can always find a way to get better and improve,” she said.
“There’s definitely moments where I didn’t want to play tennis, I didn’t know whether I wanted to do it anymore. You definitely hit those types of low moments.
“I have definitely had several of those, but I think in the end I always would kind of snap back and be, like, ‘OK, what am I talking about?’ I would always kind of flip the script a little bit, and I have always been good at doing that. I think that’s why I’ve always been able to come back from different challenges even better than before.
“Honestly, I’ve always felt like, not that it was never going to happen, I almost think the opposite. I always felt like, you know what, ‘You’ll figure it out eventually.’ That’s always something I’ve always told myself, I’ll figure it out one of these times.
“I think that’s just kind of maybe my quiet kind of confidence to myself that I feel like I always have.”
18:40 , Jamie Braidwood
Pegula plays in her first grand slam final against Aryna Sabalenka. She will aim to keep the US Open trophy in American hands after Coco Gauff’s victory last year, which also came against Sabalenka.
The Belarusian will start as the clear favourite. In New York, she has continued her remarkable consistency at the hard court grand slams, having won the last two Australian Open titles, and now reaching the last two US Open finals.
18:20 , Jamie Braidwood
“It can happen quickly,” Jessica Pegula reflected as she reached the first grand slam final of her career at the US Open. After finally ending her quarter-final curse, following six consecutive defeats at the last-eight of a major, Pegula immediately went one step better in the biggest match of her life.
The American had spent years pounding at the door of the majors without ever really convincing that she was capable of taking the next step.
Now, after pulling off a determined comeback win over Karolina Muchova in the semi-finals in New York, the 30-year-old stands on the brink of the biggest breakthrough of all in the US Open final.
18:02 , Jamie Braidwood
The US Open is being shown live on Sky Sports Tennis throughout the fortnight and both finals will be broadcast on the channel. Subscribers can stream the match online via the the Sky Sports Go app and website.
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18:01 , Jamie Braidwood
Jessica Pegula and Aryna Sabalenka will take to the court at 9pm BST (UK time) on Saturday 7 September in New York. The final will start at 4pm local time (ET).
18:00 , Jamie Braidwood
Jessica Pegula faces Aryna Sabalenka in the US Open final that will crown a new women’s champion in New York.
Pegula is looking to keep the title in American hands after Coco Gauff’s victory at Flushing Meadows last year.
Gauff’s win came against Sabalenka, but the Belarusian has underlined her status as the dominant hard-court player with another run to the US Open final.
Sabalenka, who has won the last two Australian Open titles, has experience on her side against the sixth-seed Pegula, who is through to her first grand slam final at the age of 30.
But Pegula, who defeated World No 1 Iga Swiatek in the quarter-finals, will have the backing of the Arthur Ashe crowd in an intriguing final in New York.
Follow all the latest build-up, score updates and reaction from the US Open women’s final
