Emerging victorious from the All-American semi-finals clash, Jessica Pegula defeated Amanda Anisimova to take the final spot in the ongoing Dubai Championships 2026. On Friday, February 20, the fourth-seeded American defeated the second-seeded Anisimova by sets of 1-6, 6-4, 6-3. Both the players had clashed with each other recently in the Australian Open quarter-finals match in which Pegula claimed her fifth win over Anisimova. The Dubai semi-finals were, however, her sixth one.
This will be Pegula’s eighth WTA 1000 finals appearance and her first in the Dubai event. In the finals match, she will face her opponent, who is yet to be decided between the third seed, Coco Gauff of America or the Ukrainian seventh seed, Elina Svitolina. In her career, Pegula will play her 21st finals match, while she has made it to the semi-finals in the last seven tournaments played since the 2025 US Open.
For Pegula, the final match holds a special significance as the American fourth seed aims to gift herself the Dubai Championships 2026 title for her birthday. On Monday, Pegula turns 32.
During a recent interview, she mentioned, “At the start of the third it was 1-all and I looked to my coach and said, ‘I’m just happy to still be here right now. That would be an amazing birthday present if I won the title. I’m not going to mention how old I’m turning. I came here with the intention thinking I could play well in these conditions and I’m giving myself a shot at winning the title tomorrow.”
Pegula vs Anisimova All-American semi-final clash
The All-American semi-final match saw Anisimova take the lead in the opening set and dominate Pegula by 3-0. In under 30 minutes, Anisimova went on to extend her lead to win the first set in a comfortable round by 6-1. The second seed strikes back early in the next set, but this time, Pegula makes a strong comeback to take her lead in the game.
After a few service breaks in the second set, Pegula closed out in a decisive defeat to tie the score at 6-4 and forced Anisimova to play the decider round. Continuing her dominance, Pegula gets into momentum in the final set and takes the lead by 4-1. The lead got her the edge in the third set, and she completed the game by a 6-3 win and ending the match in two hours. The win makes her unbeaten against Anisimova so far.
