For much of the first set, Jessica Pegula looked capable of turning another US Open meeting with Aryna Sabalenka into a battle.

Then Sabalenka found another gear.

What had been a tightly contested semifinal suddenly became another demonstration of why New York has turned into one of the most dominant stretches of Sabalenka’s career.

The No. 1 seed defeated Pegula 7-5, 6-2 Thursday night, advancing to her fourth consecutive US Open final and moving within one victory of a historic third straight championship at Flushing Meadows.

Now Sabalenka is chasing something no woman has accomplished at the tournament since Serena Williams won three consecutive US Open titles from 2012 through 2014.

And judging by the way Sabalenka finished her semifinal, stopping her may be increasingly difficult.

“No complaints,” Sabalenka said afterward. “I’m just super happy that I was able to pull out such tennis.”

Pegula Stayed With Her — Until She Couldn’t

The score does not fully show how competitive the opening set was.

Pegula, playing in front of a home American crowd, stayed level with Sabalenka through much of it.

There were long stretches when neither player appeared capable of creating meaningful separation.

But Sabalenka increasingly attacked Pegula’s second serve, using her trademark power to shorten points and force the American into defensive positions.

At 5-5, the match was still finely balanced.

Then Sabalenka took control.

She captured the opening set 7-5 and carried that momentum straight into the second, where the match changed dramatically.

The rallies became shorter.

The winners came faster.

Pegula found fewer opportunities to dictate play.

And Sabalenka began producing what ESPN described as perhaps her finest stretch of tennis during this year’s tournament.

By the time it was over, the difference in attacking production was striking.

Sabalenka finished with 29 winners.

Pegula had only 12.

The second set ended 6-2, sending Sabalenka back to the championship match once again.

Pegula Has Seen This Story Before

For Pegula, there was another painful layer to Thursday’s defeat.

This was the third consecutive US Open in which her run ended against Sabalenka during the tournament’s closing stages.

Their biggest meeting came in the 2024 final, when Sabalenka defeated Pegula in two tight sets to win the championship.

A year later, they met in the 2025 semifinals, and Sabalenka won again.

Now came 2026.

Same tournament.

Same opponent.

Same result.

The difference this time was how decisively Sabalenka eventually pulled away.

The previous two US Open encounters had remained competitive for much of the night. Thursday’s semifinal followed that pattern early, but once Sabalenka broke through late in the first set, Pegula could not slow her down.

Sabalenka admitted afterward just how much she wanted the victory.

“I was so desperate for the win, I wanted it badly,” she said.

That desperation translated into controlled aggression rather than panic.

And it has put her one match away from making US Open history.

Nineteen Straight Wins in New York

Sabalenka’s current run at Flushing Meadows has become extraordinary.

She has now won 19 consecutive US Open matches.

Her last defeat at the tournament came in the 2023 final, when Coco Gauff rallied to beat her and claim her first Grand Slam singles title.

Sabalenka has not lost a match here since.

She responded by winning the 2024 title.

She defended it in 2025.

And now, in 2026, she is back in the final.

Four consecutive championship-match appearances at a Grand Slam would be remarkable under any circumstances. Doing it in an era of deep women’s tennis competition makes the consistency even more striking.

Sabalenka’s road this year has not always been easy.

In the quarterfinals, Linda Noskova pushed her through a dramatic three-set match. Sabalenka escaped 7-6, 3-6, 7-6, taking the deciding tiebreak 10-7.

Two nights later, there was considerably less drama.

Against Pegula, Sabalenka needed only two sets. The first required patience.

The second was a statement.

One Win From Joining Serena Williams

The historical stakes are now impossible to ignore.

If Sabalenka wins Saturday’s final, she will become the first woman since Serena Williams to win three consecutive US Open singles championships.

Williams accomplished the feat in 2012, 2013 and 2014 during one of the most dominant stretches of her legendary career.

No woman has managed a US Open three-peat since.

Sabalenka now has the opportunity.

Her opponent will come from the other semifinal between Coco Gauff and Elena Rybakina. As Sabalenka completed her victory over Pegula, that matchup was still determining who would take the other place in Saturday’s championship match.

Either option would bring its own storyline.

Gauff is the player who handed Sabalenka her last US Open defeat three years ago.

Rybakina, meanwhile, is set to replace Sabalenka at the top of the women’s rankings next week.

That ranking change creates an unusual possibility.

Sabalenka could leave New York without the No. 1 ranking — but holding the US Open trophy for the third straight year.

She has already indicated she could live with that trade.

Sabalenka entered this tournament after holding the No. 1 ranking for 99 consecutive weeks, but said she would be willing to surrender the top spot if the consolation was another major championship in New York.

New York Has Become Sabalenka’s Stage

Sabalenka’s game has always been built around overwhelming power.

The serve.

The groundstrokes.

The willingness to attack.

But her sustained success in New York has increasingly demonstrated something else: consistency under pressure.

She has now handled different kinds of matches across four straight US Opens.

There have been difficult three-set battles.

Tiebreaks.

American crowds supporting the player on the other side of the net.

Major finals.

And the pressure that comes when everyone expects the defending champion to keep winning.

Against Pegula, she experienced much of that pressure during the first set.

Instead of allowing the tension to pull her into a long fight, Sabalenka broke the match open.

Twenty-nine winners later, she was celebrating another trip to the final.

The job, however, is not finished.

A fourth consecutive final is already an achievement.

Nineteen consecutive victories in New York is already remarkable.

But Sabalenka did not arrive at Flushing Meadows merely to extend a streak.

She arrived to win another trophy.

One match now separates her from doing exactly that — and from becoming the first woman in more than a decade to rule the US Open three years in a row.

After what she produced against Pegula, the possibility no longer feels like a distant piece of history.

It is one victory away.