Jessica Pegula falls short in historic US Open Final

Korean American tennis star Jessica Pegula’s impressive run at the U.S. Open ended in a 7-5, 7-5 loss to world No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka from Belarus in the final on Saturday.

Despite the defeat, Pegula’s performance marked a significant breakthrough, being her first Grand Slam final appearance after a comeback victory over Karolina Muchova on Thursday. The 30-year-old athlete, who will rise to a career-high ranking of No. 3, expressed mixed emotions after the match, acknowledging her disappointment at the loss but also recognizing the significance of her achievement. “For sure, I will take a lot of confidence from this — in maybe like a hour or two — because … I’m kind of annoyed,” she said. “Not even annoyed losing the tournament; it’s more just I was looking at it at, like, I just wanted to win the match.”