Jessica Pegula rallies to stun world number one Aryna Sabalenka at Wuhan Open

The world No. 6 failed to capitalise on two match points of her own at 6-5, before dominating the crucial tiebreak â- breaking Sabalenka's streak of 19 consecutive tiebreak victories.

Additionally, Sabalenka possessed a 20-0 win record at the Wuhan Open heading into the encounter.

"Well, you know, happy to be in the final," commented Pegula.

"Happy to, you know, beat such an amazing player such as Aryna. We've had so many, you know, tough matches, and I feel like, you know, she's always been able to raise her level against me when I felt like it's been close.

"So I'm glad that today it kind of flipped. I think I was able to raise my level in times when I really needed it.

"You know, it was tight closing it out, but, you know, I just hung in there and kept giving myself chances, and I think did a great job of adapting my strategy and my play based on how the match was going and how I was feeling.

"I'm really proud of being able to do that and execute that."

Pegula has lost a tight three-set match 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the semi-finals of this year's US Open to Sabalenka in a rematch of the final from 12 months prior.

Despite that loss being hard to take, the American successfully extracted the positives from the clash and utilised them in Wuhan.

"I learned a lot of what I needed to do, and you know, from the US Open, I thought I played a great match," analysed Pegula.

"I honestly thought she just was able to play some really big shots and really big moments, and that's too good, and there's not much you can do.

"But I felt like every time I played her, I've figured it out a little bit more, and it's just because I figure it out doesn't mean I'm going to win every time, but I think it puts me in a good position.

"And when you can put yourself in a decent position and then hopefully play well that day and execute most of it, you know, that's kind of all you can ask for, especially against, you know, the best player in the world right now."

Pegula will next play world No. 3 Coco Gauff for the title, with the 21-year-old becoming the youngest-ever player to reach the final of both Beijing and Wuhan.

The world No 6 leads the head-to-head 4-2, but it was Gauff who was dominant in their most recent meeting (WTA Finals 2024).

"It'll be interesting," analysed Pegula.

"I don't think we've ever played in a final. And yeah, I guess we haven't played since Riyadh, and that didn't go very well for me.

"She crushed me, but obviously, she was playing pretty high level that week. So, yeah, it's interesting.

"We haven't played each other in a while, and it's but, I mean, you know, we've practised a few times here and there when we're home because we live in the same area, but it'll, I mean, yeah, it'll be interesting to see how we're both playing.

"It's funny when you haven't played someone for a while, and, you know, some people, you play all the time, so you kind of know what to expect.

"But we know each other's games so well. I mean, we know each other so well.

"We know each other's teams really well. So, I mean, there are no secrets. We know what we're both going to try and do.

"And I think, you know, it just comes down to executing whatever the game plan is, and hoping for both, you know, both of us, that it works either, either way, and just go out there and battle."

READ MORE: Glenrose Xaba delights in personal best Boxer 5km Super Run