(Cancún) American Jessica Pegula converted her seventh match point to defeat world queen Aryna Sabalenka 6-4, 6-3 on Tuesday at the WTA Finals.
Pegula has won each of the four rounds she has played so far in the preliminary phase, a year after going 0-3 in the season-ending tournament. It is possible that she qualifies for the semi-finals on Tuesday, depending on the result of the other scheduled meeting between Elena Rybakina and Maria Sakkari.
Sabalenka, champion of the Australian Open in January and runner-up at the US Open in September, had won her last four matches against fifth-seeded Pegula in Cancun.
Tuesday, on a temporary hard surface that was criticized by Sabalenka and other players, Pegula was dominant at times. She notably won four games in a row in the first round, as well as the first four games of the second round, winning 16 points out of 19.
Sabalenka, who lost just one game Sunday against Sakkari, committed 17 unforced errors in the first set, compared to eight for Pegula.
The hardest part for Pegula was closing the books.
Serving for the match at 5-2, she earned two match points at 40-15. But Pegula then committed his first double fault of the match… then his second. Moments later, Sabalenka broke her serve.
In the next game, Pegula found himself in control 0-40, with three match points in hand. And once again, Sabalenka saved all three with two backhand and one forehand winners. Pegula wasted a sixth match point by sending a forehand into the net.
Sabalenka, however, seemed to lack energy. She double-faulted, then sent a forehand into the net to give Pegula a seventh match point. Sabalenka then missed a shot by hitting the ball with the frame of her racket, giving victory to her rival.
I am a sports journalist who has worked in print and online. I have authored articles for a sports website and have covered sports news for over 6 years.
January 16 Ukrainian tennis player Lyudmila Kichenok and her partner Desiree Krawczyk lost to Katerina Siniakova/Zhang Shuai in the final of the WTA 500 tournament in Adelaide, Australia.
The Ukrainian and the Americans lost in two sets with scores of 1:6 and 4:6 in 1 hour and 10 minutes. This was the first head-to-head meeting between the duo, and Lyudmila and Desiree held their first joint competition since 2019.
After the final match, an awards ceremony was held where consolation prizes were given to Kichenok and Krawczyk.
For Lyudmila, it was the 25th final in her career and the first since June 2025. Kichenok fought for the 12th trophy in his career.
PHOTOGRAPH. Kichenok receives consolation prize after WTA 500 final in Adelaide
I am a sports journalist who has worked in print and online. I have authored articles for a sports website and have covered sports news for over 6 years.
Semi-final matches were held in challenging tournaments on January 16 ATP 250 in Adelaide (Australia) and Auckland (New Zealand).
Tomas Machac (Czech Republic, ATP 35) and Hugo Humbert (France, ATP 36) will contest the cup in Australia. In the semifinals, Tomas beat Tommy Paul (USA, ATP 21) and Hugo beat Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (Spain, AYP 15).
Tomas will reach the third final in his career. He has a trophy named after him; He became the 500 meter champion in Acapulco last February.
Humbert reached the 11th final of his career and will look to win his eighth trophy, his first since February 2025 when he won the title in Marseille.
Makhach and Humbert have only played each other once before. In 2024, Hugo defeated Tomas in the semi-finals of the competition in Tokyo.
The final in Adelaide will take place on January 16 and will start at around 06:30 Kyiv time.
ATP 250 Adelaide. Difficult. 1/2 final
Alejandro Davidovic Fokina [1] – Hugo Humbert – 3:6, 7:5, 6:7 (4:7) Tomas Machac [8] – Tommy Paul [2] – 2:6, 6:3, 6:3
Video review of semi-final matches in Adelaide
In New Zealand, Jakub Menšik (Czech Republic, ATP 18) and Sebastian Baez (Argentina, ATP 39) will compete for the cup. Jakub defeated Fabian Marozsana (Hungary, ATP 18) and Baez defeated Marcos Giron (USA, ATP 60) in the semifinals.
As it rained in Auckland on Thursday, both Jakub and Sebastian played two matches on Friday. In the quarterfinals, Menchik defeated Giovanni Mpeshi-Perricart (France, ATP 63) and Baez defeated Ben Shelton (USA, ATP 8).
Menshik will make his third final in the Tour and compete for his second trophy. Yakub became the Masters champion last season by beating Novak Djokovic in the final in Miami.
Baez extended his hitting streak to seven games. He won three matches in the United Cup before the Auckland tournament. For the Argentinian, this will be his 12th career final and only his second on hard court.
Sebastian and Jakub had never played with each other before. The final in New Zealand will take place on January 17 at 03:00 Kyiv time.
I am a sports journalist who has worked in print and online. I have authored articles for a sports website and have covered sports news for over 6 years.
(Melbourne) They have triumphed at Roland Garros, Wimbledon and the United States Open, but never in Melbourne: Carlos Alcaraz and Iga Swiatek return to the Australian Open on Sunday in search of the only Grand Slam title still missing from their record.
Winning the first Grand Slam of the season is “my main goal this season,” the 22-year-old Spaniard said on Friday.
Winning the four major world tennis tournaments would be “incredible” in itself, but achieving it at just 22 years old would be “even better,” Alcaraz insisted at a press conference.
Author of an exceptional season in 2025 (eight titles), the Spaniard will be particularly scrutinized after parting ways in mid-December to the general surprise of his trainer Juan Carlos Ferrero.
“I would have liked to be able to continue” with Alcaraz, said Ferrero, under whose leadership “Carlitos” won his six Grand Slam titles.
“We closed this chapter by mutual agreement,” replied Alcaraz on Friday in Melbourne, ensuring good relations with Ferrero.
PHOTO VINCE CALIGIURI, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Carlos Alcaraz
Now coached only by Samuel Lopez, who joined his team at the end of 2024, Alcaraz has not played any preparation tournaments for the Australian Open.
However, he will need to be at the top of his form to triumph in Melbourne, where he has never made it past the quarter-finals and where his great rival Jannik Sinner (2e), double title holder, is waiting for him.
The Italian skipped the Davis Cup finals in November to have an extra week of preparation for the 2026 season, while Alcaraz was nursing a right leg injury.
The two ogres of the circuit, who faced each other in the final of Roland-Garros, Wimbledon and the United States Open in 2025, already crossed swords on Saturday in South Korea, during a lucrative exhibition won in two sets by the 22-year-old Spaniard.
“It was a pretty relaxed match,” Sinner said. “In exhibition […] “you’re not as tense” as in an official match, the Italian clarified.
Gauff aims for regularity
Ten-time winner of the Australian Open, Novak Djokovic will try once again in Melbourne to conquer a 25e major trophy which would make him the only record holder for Grand Slam titles, ahead of Australian Margaret Court (24 titles).
Triple finalist in Melbourne, the Russian Daniil Medvedev (12e) is also one of the contenders given his clear recovery in form in recent months, which allowed him to win the ATP 250 in Almaty in October and in Brisbane at the beginning of January.
In the women’s draw, if the world No.1 Aryna Sabalenka advances as the big favorite after having played the last three finals of the Australian Open, her runner-up Iga Swiatek (2e) has a first opportunity this year to win the only major trophy missing from his collection.
PHOTO AARON FAVILA, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Aryna Sabalenka
A possible title in Melbourne would be “a dream come true”, but “I don’t wake up every morning thinking about it” either, the Pole qualified.
Finalist in three of the four Grand Slams in 2025 and winner of the last United States Open, Sabalenka started the season by winning the WTA 500 in Brisbane for the second year in a row.
But “it’s not just Iga or me,” warned the Belarusian, very comfortable on hard courts. “There is also Coco” Gauff (3e), which deprived her of a first title at Roland-Garros in June, the Kazakhstani Elena Rybakina (5e), the American Jessica Pegula (6e)…
Without forgetting Amanda Anisimova (4e), finalist at Wimbledon and the US Open in 2025.
“I am aware of the expectations, but I use them to motivate myself,” said the American.
Title holder in Melbourne, her compatriot Madison Keys anticipates that she will be “very nervous” when she takes the court. “But on the other hand, I have never been relaxed entering the court in the first round of a Grand Slam,” she put it into perspective.
Finally, for Coco Gauff, the objective will be above all to be “more regular” from one tournament to another in 2026, particularly on serve.
“I think that the more stable my level of service is, the more regular my results will become,” anticipated the double Grand Slam winner.
I am a sports journalist who has worked in print and online. I have authored articles for a sports website and have covered sports news for over 6 years.
