Jessica Pegula compares Aryna Sabalenka to Serena Williams after Cincinnati Open loss

Aryna Sabalenka will enter the 2024 US Open as the second seed.

American tennis star Jessica Pegula compared Aryna Sabalenka to Serena Williams after she lost to the Belarusian tennis star in the Cincinnati Open 2024 final.

Sabalenka, who missed the 2024 Wimbledon Championships and the Paris Olympics, has made a commendable return to the tour by winning the WTA 1000 title in Cincinnati. In addition to that, it’s Sabalenka’s first title since the 2024 Australian Open. She has played in five finals this season, winning two.

Facing the World No. #6 Jessica Pegula, who last week won the Canadian Open, Sabalenka came up triumphs in straight sets with a final scoreline reading 6-3, 7-5. Prior to the resounding success in the final, she had also defeated World No. #1 Iga Swiatek 6-3, 6-3 in the semis.

Meanwhile, Pegula faced Paula Badosa in the semifinals, eventually winning 6-2, 3-6, 6-3. During the post-match interview, she was told that she would face Aryna Sabalenka in the final. However, she misheard Aryna for Serena and recalled the 23-time singles Grand Slam.

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Recalling the incident after losing to Sabalenka in the final, Pegula lauded the Belarusian for her serve. The American stated that she would have faced Serena Williams instead of Sabalenka in the Cincinnati final.

She said, “First congrats to Aryna. Andrew said ‘Aryna’ and I thought he said ‘Serena.’ But it felt like Serena with the way you were serving today. I don’t know.. I may have wanted Serena with the way you were serving today.”

Sabalenka fired 10 aces and won 91% of the points on her first serve, compared to Pegula’s 67%. The 26-year-old has regained the second spot in the WTA rankings by overtaking Coco Gauff of America, earlier this week.

She slipped from two to three in the rankings in June after she lost to Russian prodigy Mirra Andreeva in the quarterfinals of the 2024 French Open. Nevertheless, she will enter the US Open as the second seed while the first spot is fixed for five-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek of Poland.

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