Jessica Pegula is still in the four-player hunt for the World No. 1 ranking after the US Open — though the No. 3 seed had to pull off a gritty third-round comeback on Friday to keep her hopes alive.<\/p>\n
In a matchup of former US Open finalists, 2024 runner-up Pegula defeated No. 31 seed and 2021 runner-up Leylah Fernandez 1-6, 6-4, 6-3 in 2 hours and 11 minutes. She will need to win her first Grand Slam title this fortnight in order to rise to No. 1.<\/p>\n
The 32-year-old advanced to the second week of her home major for the fifth year in a row, and for the 13th time at all Grand Slams. She also improved to 4-1 overall against Fernandez, including 2-0 in 2026 — though their Flushing Meadows tilt was rather more complicated than Pegula’s 6-2, 6-2 win at the same stage of Miami in March. It was her 11th win from a set down this season — a tour-leading record, joint with Coco Gauff.<\/p>\n
“I always feel like it’s really tough to play her,” Pegula said in her on-court interview. “I never feel comfortable when I’m playing her, even when I’ve won, so I knew that today, especially with the way I started, I was going to have to dig deep. Really glad I was able to find something there, especially in the second set, to turn it around.<\/p>\n
“I don’t really feel like I was in the first set, figuring out where I was going to serve and where I was going to hit the first ball. I do think she played a little bit different today than when I’ve played her in the past. I just wasn’t quite moving my feet up to the ball; I was just a little lazy to start off.”<\/p>\n
How did Fernandez take the lead?<\/p>\n
The Canadian delivered a watertight and tactically sound first set. She committed to her tactics of redirecting groundstrokes early and often, and moving up to net at the right moments — and managed to pull off this aggressive strategy while only making four unforced errors and without facing a break point.<\/p>\n
By contrast, little was working for Pegula. She landed only 31% of her first serves, and wasn’t connecting on return either — usually a reliable punisher of second serves, she managed to win just two points on Fernandez’s second delivery. A ratio of 11 unforced errors to three winners compounded her woe.<\/p>\n
What was the turning point?<\/p>\n
At 2-2 in the second set, Fernandez held a point to move up a set and a break. But the 23-year-old netted a tame forehand to squander it, then on the next point tapped a volley down the middle, straight back to her opponent. Pegula seized the opportunity for the pass, then the hold, then the momentum shift.<\/p>\n
The next game saw Fernandez deliver her most error-strewn series of points so far to drop serve for the first time, and she was then unable to take a further four break points as Pegula inched out to 5-2.<\/p>\n
The end of the second set was the highest-quality passage of play, with both players seeking to out-maneuver each other with angles, spins and injections of pace. Fernandez managed to cut Pegula’s lead to 5-4, but the World No. 3’s backhand down the line came to the fore as she broke for the set in the final game.<\/p>\n
The decider followed a similar pattern to the second set: Fernandez brought up the first break point chances at 1-1, but was unable to land a return on either. The decisive break of the set came in the very next game as she lapsed into error.<\/p>\n
By now, Pegula’s serve was clicking: her first serve percentage was up to 58%, and she conceded just nine points behind her delivery throughout the third set. And her ratio of 10 winners to five unforced errors indicated how she’d turned her form around — while Fernandez leaked 11 unforced errors in the decider.<\/p>\n
What’s next for Pegula?<\/p>\n
In the fourth round, Pegula will face No. 16 seed Sorana Cirstea for the fifth time in a rivalry dating back to 2011. The 36-year-old Romanian has posted career-best results throughout 2026, a season she announced would be her last on the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz, and continued that pattern by coming from a break down in both sets to defeat No. 19 seed Jasmine Paolini 6-3, 6-3 for the first time in four meetings.<\/p>\n
Cirstea advanced to the second week of the US Open for the second time — she was a quarterfinalist in 2023 — and for the seventh time overall on the major stage. Also a quarterfinalist at Roland Garros this year, Cirstea has made the second week of multiple Slams in a single season for the first time in her career.<\/p>\n
Pegula holds a 3-1 head-to-head advantage over Cirstea, who has not won a match in the series since their first meeting in the 2011 Midland W100 first round. However, their most recent meeting — just two weeks ago in the fourth round of Cincinnati — was a barnburner that could have swung either way, Pegula eventually edging it 6-2, 4-6, 7-5.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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