Jessica Pegula continued her charge towards the semifinals in Saudi Arabia with a dominant win over Jasmine Paolini.
The American all but confirmed her place in the last four when she defeated Paolini in straight sets, 6-2, 6-3.
Pegula was excellent throughout and should advance to play either Elena Rybakina or Amanda Anisimova in the semis, unless things go drastically wrong for her when Coco Gauff and Aryna Sabalenka contest the final group stage game.
Happy with the win, Pegula took the time to answer questions on court before heading back to the locker room.
During her post-match interview, Pegula was asked for her thoughts on the crowd in Saudi Arabia.
Jessica Pegula says fans at the WTA Finals have made the event ‘really fun’ for players in 2025
The American was full of praise for the fans in Riyadh, who have been subject to criticism at times this week.
“Definitely coming from last year, I think the crowds have been a lot more loud, cheering a lot more,” said Pegula.
“Hearing a lot of chants, a lot of yelling of both of our names, which makes it really fun for us.
“I know you don’t get to see a ton of tennis in this area, but I hope that we can continue to grow this sport here; it’s been really fun to be a part of that.”
Pegula proceeded to comment on the match itself, where she picked up a rare straight-sets win.
“Finally got a straight set win for the first time in a few months, so that always feels really good,” she said.
Jessica Pegula’s last two-set win
- 2025 China Open 2R vs Ajla Tomljanovic (6-0, 6-3)
- 13 matches ago
- 40 days ago
“I thought I served really well, just played solid today, I was aggressive when I needed to be, there weren’t many negative notes today.”
| Player | Aces | Double faults | 1st Serve % | Win % on 1st Serve | Win % on 2nd Serve |
| Jessica Pegula | 2 | 1 | 71% | 83% | 82% |
| Jasmine Paolini | 0 | 4 | 69% | 56% | 56% |
Pegula then looked ahead to her potential semifinal matchup against either Anisimova or Rybakina.
“I guess it just depends on the matchup, on the next person I play,” she said.
“I think we’re going to be really happy with today for the rest of the day, maybe for most of the night, then we kind of have to switch strategies a little bit, because it’s a quick turnaround now, but we’ll be ready for the next opponent, not something we aren’t used to.”
Pegula wasn’t the only one impressed with her performance, as both Tim Henman and Laura Robson weighed in on the 31-year-old’s dominant win.
Tim Henman says Jessica Pegula’s ball striking was ‘outstanding’ vs Jasmine Paolini
Speaking on Sky Sports, the former world number four had high praise for Pegula after her latest win in Riyadh.
“[Jessica] Pegula came out with a job to be done, and she absolutely delivered,” said Henman.
“So consistent, fully focused, her ball striking was outstanding, and certainly didn’t waste any energy winning in just over an hour.
“Looks extremely likely to have booked her place in the semifinals.”
Robson then shared her thoughts on Pegula’s straightforward win over the Italian.
“Not just this week but for the last few months she has been going the distance in most of her singles matches, so it must be nice to feel like you’re coming off court with still some energy in the tank, and that it was so straightforward tactically as well,” she said.
“She played the same kind of point over and over again, it felt like, because [Jasmine] Paolini, it looked like she ran out of gas and didn’t have that first step sharpness that we usually see from her.
“So, for Pegula, she almost played everything inside the baseline from the start of the point and got herself in a great position.”
Only time will tell if Pegula can continue to impress in Riyadh, but it will certainly be interesting to see how she performs if she does qualify for the semifinals.
The semifinals of the 2025 WTA Finals are scheduled to take place on Friday, November 7.
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