CNN
 — 

There have been plenty of shocks in the women’s singles draw at the US Open, but the final will be contested by two players in terrific form.

Jessica Pegula will play her first ever major final on Saturday against two-time grand slam champion Aryna Sabalenka. This matchup marks the second year in a row that an American will take on Sabalenka for the title – Coco Gauff defeated the Belarusian in three sets in 2023 to win her maiden grand slam.

The two players will face each other in the world-famous Arthur Ashe Stadium, with the final scheduled to start at 4 p.m. ET on Saturday.

The match will be broadcast on ESPN and streamed on ESPN+.

The North American hard court swing has seen Pegula play some of the best tennis of her career. She retained her title at the Canadian Open in August to claim her third WTA 1000 trophy before reaching the final at the Cincinnati Open the following week, where she was defeated by Sabalenka.

The 30-year-old appeared undeterred by the defeat and has been on the run of a lifetime to make the final. She entered the US Open with an 0-6 record in grand slam quarterfinals and faced the ominous task of defeating world No. 1 and five-time major champion Iga Świątek in order to break that duck.

Pegula stunned the Polish star in straight sets to break new ground and reach the semifinals, where she took on Karolína Muchová, dropping her first set of the tournament and going a break down before recovering to win 1-6, 6-4, 6-2. The Buffalo native now has the chance to win her first major title in front of a home crowd.

“It’s a childhood dream,” said the sixth seed. “It’s what I wanted when I was a kid. It’s a lot of work, a lot of hard work put in. You couldn’t even imagine how much goes into it. … I’m just happy to be in a final, but obviously, I come here to want to win the title.

“You know, if you would have told me at the beginning of the year I’d be in the finals of the US Open, I would have laughed so hard because that just was where my head was, was not thinking that I would be here.

“So to be able to overcome all those challenges and say that I get a chance at the title Saturday is what we play for as players, let alone being able to do that in my home country here, in my home slam. It’s perfect, really.”

Sabalenka leads the head-to-head between the two 5-2. Prior to Cincinnati, the pair last clashed in the first round of 2023 WTA Finals, with the American coming out on top.

“She’s a really great hard court player, if not one of the best in the world,” Pegula said of her opponent. “But I think I’m also a really good hard court player. Cincinnati, she served unbelievable, and I felt like I still had chances in that match. So hopefully, she doesn’t serve that good Saturday. Maybe a little bit less would be nice.”

Sabalenka has established herself as an elite player on hard courts over the years. Her two major titles came at the Australian Open in 2023 and 2024, while five of her seven WTA 1000 titles came on the surface.

She possesses the ranking and head-to-head advantage over Pegula and won their most recent matchup, but the partisan New York crowd will be a major factor that the Belarusian will have to overcome on Saturday. After beating another home favorite in Emma Navarro in the semifinals on Thursday, Sabalenka admitted that the support for Gauff in last year’s final had affected her at the time.

“Last year, it was a very tough experience, very tough lesson,” said the world No. 2. “Today in the match, I was, like, ‘No, no, no, Aryna, it’s not going to happen again. You have to control your emotions. You have to focus on yourself.’

“There were people supporting me. I was trying to focus on them. I’m thinking, ‘Come on, there is so many people supporting you. There is your team in the box. There is your family. Just focus on yourself and try to – not try – just fight for it.’”

Sabalenka has also only dropped one set heading into the final – she was taken the distance by Ekaterina Alexandrova in the third round – and defeated Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen in the quarterfinals. She now has the chance to avenge her defeat in last year’s final on Saturday against Pegula, an opponent whose game she knows well.

“We had a lot of great battles in the past, really difficult, tight matches,” said Sabalenka. “She playing really incredible tennis. We played recently in Cincinnati. Was a really tough match, even though I closed the match in two sets, but still it wasn’t that easy.

“She’s playing her best tennis, I would say, and feels like she’s back on track … she’s in incredible shape. It’s going to be another great battle against her.”