Pegula survives Anisimova to reach Cincinnati semi-finals
Jessica Pegula edged out Amanda Anisimova 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 (4) on Thursday evening. She’ll play the winner of the match between Pole Iga Swiatek, the No 7 seed, and Kazakh Elena Rybakina, the second seed, in the next round
Jessica Pegula, Cincinnati 2026 | © Kate Hua/Wick Photography for Cincinnati Open
It is hard to win a match any tighter than this. Jessica Pegula edged fellow American Amanda Anisimova 6-4, 2-6, 7-6(4) on Thursday to reach the semi-finals of the Cincinnati Open, and the scoreboard barely separated them: across 2h14 and 189 points, Pegula won just one more than her opponent, 95 to 94.
The all-American quarter-final swung throughout. Pegula took a tight opener, Anisimova roared back to level with a 6-2 second set, and the decider went the distance before the world No 3 held her nerve to take the tiebreak 7-4.
Along the way she survived a genuine scare — not from the scoreboard alone, but from her opponent’s body. Pegula appeared to be struggling physically in the second set and came close to retiring, her coach heard urging her to think “long term.”
Anisimova struck 36 winners and was a flawless 5-for-5 on break points, but 56 unforced errors ultimately undid her. It was, in the end, the difference between a first Cincinnati semi-final and a first Cincinnati quarter-final exit; the American had never previously gone beyond the fourth round here.
For Pegula, it was another line in a relentless season. The victory was her sixth top-10 win of 2026 and took her to a tour-leading 44 wins on the year, while also lifting her above Elina Svitolina to No 4 in the WTA Race. It is her second WTA 1000 semi-final of the season and her second in Cincinnati, and it stretched her perfect record against Anisimova to 6-0.
The match also underlined an American surge at this event: it was the third all-American quarter-final at Cincinnati since 2000, in a week where four US women reached the last eight for the first time since 1988.
Pegula’s reward is a heavyweight semi-final. She will face the winner of the quarter-final between second seed Elena Rybakina and Iga Swiatek.
Cincinnati WTA 1000, QUARTER FINALS
- S. Bejlek vs. M. Keys (19)
- C. Gauff (4) vs. M. Kostyuk (10)
- J. Pegula (3) d. A. Anisimova (9): 6-4, 2-6, 7-6(4)
- I. Swiatek (7) vs. E. Rybakina (2)
