Jessica Pegula had her chances. Midway through the second set of yet another enormous match with Elena Rybakina, the American had engineered a flawless start. After bulldozing through the opening set, Pegula’s level at the beginning of set two put her in with a fair shot of snatching a win against her Kazakhstani opponent, who has dominated their recent meetings.
Instead, Pegula departed Miami with another tough lesson to parse through after being shown once again that the best players in the world pounce on even the smallest drops in intensity. Despite her mediocre start, Rybakina produced a brilliant comeback to reach the Miami Open semi-finals with a 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 win.
There is no doubt that Rybakina is in the best form in her entire career and, having compiled a tour‑leading 21 matches in 2026, she has become difficult to beat in the biggest events. Since following up her WTA Finals triumph in November by winning her second grand slam title at the Australian Open in January, Rybakina has continued to play at a high level in March.
“Last year I was trying to find my game, I was struggling a little bit,” said Rybakina. “But now we’re doing a good job with the team, we have a plan for each match and I’m trying to follow. Of course sometimes you need to adapt and change something during the match, but everything has been working pretty well for now so hopefully I can just continue.”
Rybakina started her month with a run to the Indian Wells final, where she held a match point in the final set tie-break before Aryna Sabalenka blazed a backhand winner en route to victory in the best match of the year. Another chapter of the defining rivalry of the 2026 tennis season so far could follow this week. Rybakina, who rose to a new career‑high ranking of No 2 at the beginning of the tournament but is seeded third, awaits the winner of the quarter‑final between Sabalenka, the No 1, and Hailey Baptiste.
For Pegula, her fifth consecutive defeat by Rybakina is one of the most frustrating of all. Things looked completely under control for well over a set, but after Rybakina brilliantly survived three break points at 2-2, the momentum shifted. Rybakina spent the subsequent half‑hour dominating the Pegula second serve while serving imperiously.
The American struggled with her first serve for just a few games, but it was enough for her to find herself down a break at the beginning of the final set. She fought hard until the end and put Rybakina under sustained pressure in a high‑quality final set, but the Australian Open champion found enormous, precise first serves and she was relentless on her first shot behind her serve whenever she needed to be. She closed out another supreme victory.
At the beginning of the year Pegula declared herself one of the top three players in the world, an assertion that remains difficult to argue with. The top two players, however, are clear of all challengers. Alongside Pegula’s defeats against Rybakina she has also lost five of her past six matches against Sabalenka. Their immense firepower makes Pegula’s tidy, early ball striking look underpowered by comparison.
Still, Pegula has played quality tennis in many of these encounters and given herself opportunities. She simply has to find a way to take one of them. “I’m putting myself right there,” the world No 5 said. “I’m giving myself the chances and the opportunities, I think I have elevated my game, I’ve become a better player. I am definitely challenging them, both of them. That’s kind of all I can ask of myself and hopefully some of the wins will come along.”
