Jessica Pegula Dominates Sofia Kenin to Reach US Open Third Round
Jessica Pegula is not just flirting with the idea of becoming World No. 1. She is playing like it already belongs to her.
Under the lights of New York, the No. 3 seed dismantled Sofia Kenin 6-3, 6-1 in just 56 minutes to reach the US Open third round for the seventh straight year, a run of consistency that now feels like her baseline rather than her ceiling.
This was not a rivalry. Not tonight.
Their head-to-head history suggested a grind: four of their first five meetings went three sets, and Kenin has long been one of the trickier puzzles on tour for Pegula. But the numbers told a different story by the end. Pegula improved to 5-2 against the former Australian Open champion and 47-12 on the season, and this was their most lopsided encounter by far. For the first time, Kenin failed to win even eight games against her.
“Every match we've played throughout the years has been very tough,” Pegula said on court, giving due respect to a player who has pushed her plenty in the past. “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 doesn’t quite cover it.
Serve as a statement
Pegula’s serve, often the quiet part of her game, has become a weapon this fortnight. Against Elena-Gabriela Ruse in the first round, she lost only seven points on serve. It looked like an outlier. It wasn’t.
She repeated the exact stat line against Kenin: seven points dropped behind her delivery, no break points faced, and five more aces to push her tournament tally to nine. Kenin never really got a look at her.
“I'm going for my spots,” Pegula explained. “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 work shows. The first serve set the tone; the second serve underlined the gap. Kenin, once one of the best returners on tour, spent much of the night reacting rather than dictating.
When Kenin did blink, Pegula pounced. A double fault from the American on the other side of the net handed over the opening break, and Pegula never loosened her grip. The pressure built game by game until the match tipped heavily in her favor.
Return game bites too
The serve may have stolen the headlines, but Pegula’s return game carried the same sharp edge. Kenin’s early double fault opened the door, yet it was Pegula’s persistence that blew it off its hinges.
In the second set, she dug in to convert a fourth break point for 2-0, refusing to let Kenin wriggle free. At 3-0, she stepped in even harder, cracking some of her best backhand returns of the day to secure the double break for 4-0. The rallies got shorter. Kenin’s shoulders dropped. Pegula’s level did not.
The match ended as it had been played: on Pegula’s terms, with no hint of drama.
A runner-up’s road: 2024 finalist vs 2021 finalist
The stakes now rise. Pegula, last year’s US Open runner-up, will face another former finalist in the third round: No. 31 seed Leylah Fernandez, the 2021 runner-up.
It is a compelling contrast. Fernandez arrived in New York this year without a single Grand Slam match win in 2026. This week, she has reset that narrative, beating Mananchaya Sawangkaew 6-4, 6-1 to reach the third round here for the third time.
Pegula holds a 3-1 edge in their head-to-head, all on North American outdoor hard courts. Their most recent meeting came in Miami this year, where Pegula dominated 6-2, 6-2. History leans her way. The matchup does not feel that simple.
“I think she's tough to play,” Pegula said in press, already turning her mind to the next challenge. “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.”
That lefty angle, the early timing, the willingness to step in and take time away — Fernandez brings the kind of disruptive game that can rattle rhythm players. Pegula, right now, is not playing like someone easily rattled.
World No. 1 in sight
Hovering over all of this is the bigger picture. If Pegula wins her first Grand Slam title here and Elena Rybakina falls before the semifinals, she will rise to World No. 1 for the first time.
The math is clear. The path is anything but.
Yet nights like this, where she walks off court in under an hour having barely been touched on serve, send a message. Pegula isn’t just grinding her way through draws anymore. She’s imposing herself, shortening matches, and backing up the talk of hard work with cold, clean numbers.
Kenin knows how good you have to be to win a major. Pegula is trying to show how good you have to be to own a fortnight in New York.
If this is the level she’s bringing to week one, what happens when the tournament really starts to bite?
