Sabalenka knocked out of Berlin semi-final by Pegula

American Jessica Pegula celebrates winning her women’s singles semi-final match at the Berlin Open. (EPA Images pic)

BERLIN: World number one Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus suffered a shock defeat in her grass-court build-up to Wimbledon on Saturday, losing to American Jessica Pegula 6-4, 6-7 (4), 6-0 in the Berlin Open semi-finals.

The 28-year-old, who exited the French Open in the quarter-finals to Russian Diana Shnaider, struggled to find her rhythm after a slow start, and Pegula took the opening set following an early break.

After a rain delay, Sabalenka took the second-set tiebreak before Pegula reasserted control to race through the decider.

All four of the Belarusian’s Grand Slam titles — her most recent at the 2025 US Open — have come on hard courts, and she is still chasing a first Wimbledon crown after three semi-final runs. She lost this year’s Australian Open final to Elena Rybakina in three sets, a year after finishing runner-up to American Madison Keys.

Pegula, the 2024 Berlin champion, will face either Czech Linda Noskova or the Philippines’ Alexandra Eala in Sunday’s final.