Jessica Pegula has finally ended her hard-fought battle for a title after losing her chance of a podium finish in her six consecutive semi-final appearances. On Saturday, February 21, the American tennis player defeated Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina in the women’s singles finals match of the 2026 Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championship. Pegula won by sets of 6-2, 6-4 in the 1-hour and 12-minute match. The win got her the 10th singles crown in the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz.
Earlier in the All-American semi-finals, Pegula defeated second seed Amanda Anisimova in a decisive match by sets of 1-6, 6-4, 6-3. Meanwhile, Svitolina had made her finals qualification after defeating America’s Coco Gauff in the semi-finals match and defeated her by sets of 6-4, 6(13)-7(15), 6-4.
During the post-victory presentation, Pegula offered her thanks to the audience who came to witness the women’s singles finals match and was happy to perform in front of the Dubai crowd. In the head-to-head record against Svitolina, Pegula has won six out of the nine matches played so far.
“It was a great atmosphere, especially the last two nights, not only supporting me but supporting all the girls here that compete and fight so hard every single day all week. We really appreciate it. What’s most fun for us is being able to play in front of the fans, so thank you guys so much for coming out.”
For Pegula, this was her fourth title at the WTA 1000 level, and is now the third American to have the Dubai crown, joining former champion Lindsay Davenport and three-time champion Venus Williams. After the 2023 WTA Finals, this is the second time that Pegula has had four wins against Top 20-seeded players in a singles event. This includes her Round of 16 win against Iva Jovic, Clara Tauson in the quarterfinals, followed by Anisimova in the semis and ending with Svitolina in the finals match.
Pegula vs. Svitolina finals match
From the opening game, Pegula looked headstrong to win. However, after dropping her first two points, she went on to win the following 10 and went past Svitolina to take the lead by 3-0. The Ukrainian striking back goes on to add her first point, but Pegula responded, adding two more points to set her lead at 5-2, and in 34 minutes, she wins the opening set after adding another score.
Going ahead in the second set, Pegula tried her best to keep Svitolina off the momentum, who got the lead this time by 2-1. Pegula struck back with her forehand game, taking the lead at 3-2. But Svitolina continues to fight back and keeps building the pressure in her final two services. One last forehand strike from Pegula and the American seals her championship trophy against Svitolina.
