Jessica Pegula Advances to Third Round of US Open by Defeating Sofia Kenin

New York, September 2: Third-seeded Jessica Pegula showcased her exceptional skills on Wednesday, defeating fellow American Sofia Kenin to secure her place in the third round of the US Open. This marks the seventh consecutive year Pegula has reached this stage in New York.

The match was their seventh encounter, and Pegula displayed remarkable form, winning in just 56 minutes with a score of 6-3, 6-1. With this victory, Pegula improved her season record to 47-12 and her head-to-head against Kenin to 5-2. Kenin had previously advanced to the second round by defeating veteran Venus Williams.

In their first four meetings from 2016 to 2021, all matches went to three sets, but this encounter proved to be the easiest for Pegula. Since then, she has achieved three consecutive set wins against Kenin, and this was the first time she lost fewer than eight games in a match.

Pegula, the runner-up in 2024, will face 2021 runner-up and 31st seed Leylah Fernandez next. Fernandez, who had not won a Grand Slam match in 2026 prior to this week, secured her third-round spot by defeating Mananchaya Sawangkaew 6-4, 6-1.

In their head-to-head matchups, Pegula leads 3-1, with all encounters taking place on North American outdoor hard courts. Their most recent match occurred earlier this year in Miami, where Pegula triumphed 6-2, 6-2.

During her match against Kenin, Pegula demonstrated the strength of her serve. In her first-round victory against Elena-Gabriela Ruse, she lost only seven points on her serve. She replicated this feat against Kenin, losing just seven points again and facing no break points. With five aces in this match, her total for the tournament rose to nine.

While Pegula’s serving statistics were impressive, her return game was equally strong. Kenin gave Pegula an early break opportunity with a double fault, which Pegula capitalized on, converting her fourth break point to take a 2-0 lead in the second set. She then executed her best backhand return of the day, achieving a double break with a 4-0 advantage.