Sabalenka concedes another 6-0 set as Pegula reaches the Berlin final
Five defeats in their last six meetings, then a bagel set to settle it: Jessica Pegula (No 3) beat world No 1 Aryna Sabalenka 6-4, 6-7 (4), 6-0 to reach the Berlin final. Noskova next.
Pegula – Sabalenka, Berlin 2026 | © Imago / PsNewz
American third seed Jessica Pegula produced the most emphatic of finishes to a momentum-swinging contest on Saturday, beating world No 1 Aryna Sabalenka 6-4, 6-7 (4), 6-0 to reach the final of the Berlin Tennis Open.
The match turned sharply after a rain interruption during the second-set tie-break. Pegula had taken the opening set 6-4 and looked the steadier player, but Sabalenka levelled by edging the breaker once play resumed.
Whatever the stoppage did to the rhythm of the contest, it was Pegula who emerged transformed: she swept through the decider for the loss of no games, conceding little as Sabalenka’s control deserted her, to complete the win in three sets.
What’s happening to Sabalenka’s third sets ?
For Sabalenka, the manner of the defeat continued an unusual run of lapses for a world No 1. Only a day earlier she had escaped from 6-2, 4-0 down against Nikola Bartunkova, a player ranked well outside the top 50, before recovering to win; here there was no such reprieve, the decider slipping away for the loss of every game. She conceded a 6-0 third set in each of her two most recent losses on tour, a lapse far below the competitive standards expected of the world No 1.
The victory carried particular weight for Pegula, who had lost five of her previous six meetings with Sabalenka and had so often found the Belarusian an immovable obstacle on the biggest occasions. It was her sixth career win over a reigning world No 1, a result that placed her among a small group of players aged 30 or over to record three or more wins over the top-ranked player since the WTA rankings began in 1975 with Martina Navratilova (5), Chris Evert (5), Serena Williams (5) and Virginia Wade (3).
Pegula had reached the last four with wins over compatriot Madison Keys (7-6 (5), 7-6 (8)) and Czech Katerina Siniakova (6-2, 6-4). Sabalenka, the top seed, had survived a scare against Czech Nikola Bartunkova (2-6, 7-6 (2), 6-4) and beaten Russian Ekaterina Alexandrova (6-4, 6-4) to reach the semi-finals, but found no answer once the final set slipped away.
Pegula’s opponent was settled later on Saturday evening, when Czech eighth seed Linda Noskova ended the breakthrough run of Alexandra Eala 6-2, 6-4. The 21-year-old Filipino, ranked No 35, had been the story of the week on her Berlin debut, beating Croatian Donna Vekic (7-5, 6-4), second seed Elena Rybakina (7-5, 6-4) and Ukrainian sixth seed Elina Svitolina (6-3, 6-4) in succession for back-to-back top-10 wins, but found no way past Noskova.
The Czech, ranked No 13, had dropped only 12 games across her three previous matches, beating Spaniard Paula Badosa (6-1, 6-3), Frenchwoman Diane Parry (6-2, 6-2) and Mexican Renata Zarazua (6-1, 6-4). It’s her 7th WTA final but her first on grass. Eala will play her last tournament before Wimbledon at Bad Homburg.
