Pegula Saves Match Point to Reach WTA Finals Semis
Jessica Pegula saved a match point to beat Linda Noskova 7-6 (2), 4-6, 7-5 in a two-hour, 45-minute thriller at Indian Wells on Thursday, reaching the semi-finals of the WTA Finals and ending Coco Gauff’s hopes of progressing from the group stage.
The 32-year-old American, the world No. 5, was on the brink of elimination in the deciding set before finding a way through against the reigning Wimbledon champion. She becomes the first player to win a WTA Finals match after saving a match point since Simona Halep in 2019.
Pegula will now face Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva in Saturday’s semi-final, a first meeting between the pair on the WTA Tour — and a rematch of a controversy that has followed both players all week.
Match point down, then a late break
Noskova pushed Pegula to the edge in the decider. Down a match point, the American held her nerve, saved it, and then earned the decisive break at 6-5 to close out the contest and seal her place in the last four.
Pegula fired a career-high 16 aces across the three sets, while Noskova produced a personal worst of 15 double faults in a fluctuating contest that swung repeatedly before the final games.
Pegula said afterwards that she “kept telling” herself to “go out and compete” as the match slipped towards defeat, a mindset that carried her through the tensest moments of the deciding set.
The win took her to the WTA Finals semi-finals for the third time, after previous trips to the last four in 2023 and 2025.
A three-way tie settled on sets
The result also settled a three-way qualification battle in Group 1. Pegula, Noskova and Gauff all finished the round-robin stage with 2-1 records, with alternate Marta Kostyuk losing all three of her matches.
Noskova finished as group winner, while Pegula took the second qualifying spot ahead of her compatriot Gauff on sets won, five to four. Gauff had beaten Kostyuk earlier on Thursday to improve to 2-1, but the maths went against her once Pegula completed her comeback.
Noskova will face the winner of the final group match between Aryna Sabalenka and Elina Svitolina in the other semi-final.
A grudge match awaits on Saturday
The semi-final against Andreeva carries a storyline neither player can escape. Days earlier, Pegula was caught on a practice livestream calling the 19-year-old a “diva” who “needs to be humbled”, and making critical remarks about her coach, Conchita Martinez. The WTA later apologised over the hot-mic incident, which NationWire reported earlier this week.
Andreeva, who topped Group 2 to reach the semi-finals, has not played Pegula before at tour level, and the two will now meet for a place in the final of the season-ending championships at Indian Wells.
What the win means
For Pegula, the victory keeps alive a strong finish to a season in which she has again been one of the most consistent performers on tour. Reaching the semi-finals from match point down, against the Wimbledon champion, and at the expense of a fellow American, is the kind of win that can change the shape of a tournament.
For Gauff, the exit is a bitter end to her WTA Finals campaign. She did her part by beating Kostyuk on Thursday, but a place in the knockouts was decided by sets, and Pegula’s comeback left her one set short.
The semi-finals take place on Saturday, with Pegula against Andreeva and Noskova awaiting the Sabalenka-Svitolina winner. The final is scheduled for Sunday, 15 November.
