Pegula Reaches Dubai Final
Jessica Pegula and Elina Svitolina advanced to the final of the WTA Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships after defeating top seeds Coco Gauff and Amanda Anisimova respectively. The quarterfinals featured a see-saw second set between Antonia Ružić and Svitolina, with live updates showing Ružić breaking serve.
- In the semifinal, Jessica Pegula staged a significant comeback against Amanda Anisimova after being down 1-6 and 1-3, extending her career head-to-head record against her fellow American to 5-0. - Elina Svitolina's semifinal victory over Coco Gauff was a grueling three-hour and three-minute match. The second set featured a dramatic 28-point tiebreak where Gauff saved four match points before Svitolina ultimately won the match 6-4, 6-7(13), 6-4. - This marks Svitolina's first appearance in a WTA 1000 final since 2018; a two-time previous champion in Dubai (2017, 2018), she has made a strong return to the tour's top tier after taking a break to have her first child in 2022. - The runner-up in the final will receive $385,001 in prize money, while the champion will take home $665,000. - The quarterfinal round featured a breakout performance from Croatian lucky loser Antonia Ružić, who entered the main draw despite losing in the first round of qualifying. Ružić achieved her first-ever win against a top-10 player by defeating world No. 3 Elena Rybakina before being eliminated by Svitolina. - Pegula leads the overall head-to-head matchup against Svitolina 5-3. - The semifinal losses for Coco Gauff and Amanda Anisimova mirrored their exits from the recent Australian Open, where they were defeated by the same opponents, Svitolina and Pegula, respectively.
