Jessica Pegula and Amanda Anisimova will go head-to-head on Friday in the semifinals of the Dubai Tennis Championships. The meeting will be a rematch of last month’s Australian Open quarterfinal between the two. Pegula appears to be in the form of her life and will look to continue her run against Anisimova, who is also coming off a strong 2025.
Jessica Pegula vs. Amanda Anisimova Match Details
Date: Feb. 20, 2026
Tournament: Dubai Tennis Championships 2026
Round: Semifinals
Venue: Dubai Duty Free Tennis Stadium, Dubai, UAE
Surface: Outdoor hard
Category: WTA 1000
Live Telecast: Tennis Channel, Sky Sports, TSN, TVA
Pegula vs. Anisimova Head-to-Head
Pegula and Anisimova have met four times, with Pegula coming out on top on each occasion. Their most recent meeting came in the quarterfinals of the 2026 Australian Open, where Pegula came out on top in straight sets, winning 6-2, 7-6 (1).
Looking to build on the highs of last year, Anisimova hasn’t enjoyed the best of starts to the season. She was eliminated early in Brisbane and failed to defeat her compatriot in Melbourne.
Anisimova was then forced to end her Qatar Open defense early, retiring in her opening match. Now down to sixth in the WTA Rankings, the 24-year-old has looked quite solid in Dubai and came from behind to defeat reigning champion Mirra Andreeva in the quarterfinals, 2-6, 7-5, 7-6 (4).
Pegula is enjoying an impressive run and has reached the semifinals in each of her last seven WTA Tour events. Despite needing three sets to defeat Clara Tauson in the quarterfinals, she looked largely in control and will now look to turn her fine form into a WTA 1000 title in Dubai.
Pegula vs. Anisimova Prediction
Pegula’s superior record in their head-to-heads, combined with her impressive start to 2026, should give her the edge over Anisimova in this one. The 31-year-old appears to be on top of her game, both in terms of her serve and her return.
Anisimova will be determined to take a measure of revenge against her compatriot and will showcase her ability to win the big points during her hard-fought quarterfinal clash against Andreeva.
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Despite that, Anisimova has struggled with her serve at times this season. This was also evident against Andreeva, against whom she had her serve broken on nine occasions.
Pegula’s return stats for 2026 make for impressive reading, as she has won 46.5% of her return points and 41.6% of her return games. Her service numbers have also been solid, with her second-serve winning percentage at 50.4% and her service games won percentage at 62.4%.
We are backing Pegula to come out on top in this one, much like she did when they met at the Australian Open.
Pick – Pegula to win in two sets
