Jessica Pegula reached a major career milestone by defeating world No. 1 Iga Swiatek in the US Open quarterfinals, securing her first-ever Grand Slam semifinal appearance with a commanding 6-2 6-4 victory. Her win ensured the first occurrence of two American Grand Slam semifinalists in both the men’s and women’s singles since the 2003 US Open.
Wednesday’s US Open victory was particularly meaningful for Pegula, who had previously gone 0-6 in Grand Slam quarterfinals. With the pressure mounting and constant questions about her inability to break past this stage, she finally got her breakthrough in New York.