Jessica Pegula Dominates Sofia Kenin to Reach US Open Third Round
Jessica Pegula barely broke a sweat. Sofia Kenin barely had a look-in.
On a humid day in New York, the No. 3 seed ripped through her compatriot 6-3, 6-1 in just 56 minutes, marching into the US Open third round for the seventh consecutive year and underlining exactly why the No. 1 ranking is suddenly within reach.
If Pegula lifts her first Grand Slam trophy here and Elena Rybakina falls before the semifinals, the 32-year-old American will rise to World No. 1 for the first time. On this evidence, that scenario no longer feels fanciful. It feels very real.
A rivalry turned rout
Pegula and Kenin know each other’s games inside out. Their first four meetings, from 2016 to 2021, all went the distance. Long rallies, momentum swings, tight finishes. Not this time.
Pegula improved to 5-2 in their head-to-head, and this was by far the most brutal scoreline between them. She has now won their last three encounters in straight sets, but never before had she held Kenin to fewer than eight games. Kenin managed just four.
“Every match we've played throughout the years has been very tough,” Pegula said on court. “Sonya's given me a lot of trouble in the past, she's a great player and a champion. I was just trying to stay focused on what I needed to do, and luckily was able to be pretty efficient out there today.”
Efficient is one word for it. Clinical is another. Kenin, a former Australian Open champion, never found a foothold as Pegula controlled the baseline, redirected pace with ease and shut the door on any hint of resistance.
Serve as a weapon, not a safeguard
Pegula’s serve, long a solid platform, has become a genuine weapon this fortnight.
Against Elena-Gabriela Ruse in the opening round, she conceded only seven points on serve. That kind of number usually regresses to the mean. Pegula refused.
She repeated the feat against Kenin: seven points lost on serve, no break points faced, five aces, and a tournament total that now stands at nine. Kenin spent most of the match looking at unreturnable first balls or heavy, well-placed second serves that landed exactly where Pegula wanted.
“I'm going for my spots,” Pegula said. “I'm going pretty big on second serves, I'm trying to mix up where I'm going and just trust that I can hit good serves in the moment. That's been a lot of work we've done off court, so really excited when I can practise something and it pays off in the match.”
The numbers back her up. There was no sense of protecting the second serve, no hint of tentativeness. Pegula stepped up, hit her locations, and turned service games into sprints instead of battles.
Return game bites too
Kenin handed over the first break with a double fault, but Pegula didn’t live off gifts. She dug into return games, absorbed Kenin’s pace and then punched back, especially off the backhand.
The pressure told early in the second set. Pegula ground through a long game, finally converting her fourth break point to lead 2-0. From there, she surged. At 4-0, she uncorked her best backhand returns of the day, taking time away and ripping the ball deep to secure the double break and, effectively, the match.
Kenin’s shoulders dropped. Pegula’s level didn’t.
From one runner-up to another
The path only gets trickier now, and it comes with a neat bit of symmetry.
Pegula, the 2024 US Open runner-up, will face the 2021 runner-up next. No. 31 seed Leylah Fernandez, who had not won a Grand Slam match all year before arriving in New York, has rediscovered her spark this week. The Canadian beat Mananchaya Sawangkaew 6-4, 6-1 to reach the third round here for the third time.
Pegula leads their head-to-head 3-1, all on North American outdoor hard courts. Their most recent clash came in Miami this year, where Pegula dominated 6-2, 6-2. History leans her way, but she knows Fernandez can turn a match into a street fight in a hurry.
“I think she's tough to play,” Pegula said in press. “She plays a little bit unorthodox, likes to use her forehand and take the ball super early. When she's feeling it, it can be really tough to play against.
“I have had situations where I feel like I've played well against her and done well, but then sometimes if she's on and you start a little slow, she can really be super-aggressive and it's tricky to play against.
“It's hard. And then on top of that, being a lefty and returning her serve I think is always another hard part. There is definitely some stuff I'm going to have to work on and address probably tomorrow, and then hopefully I'm able to play well against her in the next round.”
Fernandez will bring noise, angles, and a lefty’s awkward questions. Pegula will bring form, confidence, and a serve that suddenly looks like a top-tier weapon.
One of them has already played a US Open final on this court. The other is chasing not just a first major, but the No. 1 ranking with it.
New York is about to find out which story has more force.
