American star Jessica Pegula has set her sights on the title as she advanced to the final of the WTA 1000 Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships after defeating fellow American Amanda Anisimova in the semifinal round. The World No. 5 has consistently delivered impressive performances in her tournaments and will face the seventh seed, Elina Svitolina, in the final.
Jessica Pegula Continues Her Elite Form and Reaches the Final at the Dubai Tennis Championship
Pegula has delivered dominant performances at Dubai, where she entered as the fourth seed. In her run to clinch her season’s first title, Pegula has surpassed Varvara Gracheva in the round of 32 and 18-year-old rising star Iva Jovic in the round of 16 in straight sets. In her quarterfinal, she faced Clara Tauson, World No. 15, and defeated her 6-3, 2-6, 6-4.
In the semifinal, Pegula overcame second-seeded Anisimova, securing her place in the final with a concluding scoreline of 1-6, 6-4, 6-3 in 2 hours and 2 minutes, and now leads their head-to-head with 5-0. Before this, the duo last clashed at the Australian Open, where she defeated Anisimova in the quarterfinal round in straight sets.
In their X post, the Tennis Channel recently highlighted Pegula’s consistent performances on the Tour, noting that she has reached all the semifinals since the 2025 US Open, adding, “Jessica Pegula has made the semifinals at every event she’s played since the 2025 US Open Crazy consistency.”
Jessica Pegula has made the semifinals at every event she’s played since the 2025 US Open 🔥
Crazy consistency 🤯 pic.twitter.com/JckqLw893F
— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) February 19, 2026
To which, before her semifinal match, Pegula had replied, “0 my friend. Dubai is pending.”
READ MORE: ‘I Wasn’t Going To Go Away’ – Jessica Pegula Makes Feelings Known After Reaching Dubai Final 4
In her US Open campaign, the billionaire heiress lost in the semifinals to eventual champion Sabalenka, and in the China Open, she lost in the semifinals to Linda Nosková. She lost the Wuhan Open title to Gauff, and in the season-ending championship, she couldn’t get past the eventual champion, Elena Rybakina, in the semifinal.
In her 2026 Brisbane International run, she lost to Marta Kostyuk, who in the next round lost the title to defending champion Aryna Sabalenka.
In the first Grand Slam of the season, she was once again limited by the eventual champion, Rybakina, in the semifinal round. She clinched her last title at the 2025 Bad Homburg Open, after defeating Polish sensation Iga ÅšwiÄ…tek.
