The women’s singles semifinals are on Thursday in New York, as are the men’s doubles semifinals.
For only the second time in the Open Era, the top four seeds have reached the women’s singles semifinals at the US Open. The last time this occurred was in 1975, and the last time this occurred at any Major was at Wimbledon in 2009. So this will be quite a special and rare occasion.
In a rematch of the US Open final from 2024, the top seed and two-time defending champion Aryna Sabalenka faces Jessica Pegula. And Elena Rybakina, who has already secured her spot as the new World No.1 come next week, plays fellow two-time Major singles champion Coco Gauff, who has been the best player of the past month. It’s a pair of blockbuster semifinals back-to-back on Thursday night.
Earlier in the day, the men’s doubles semifinals will be staged, featuring seven Major champions.
Here’s a rundown of the most notable matches on Day 12 (in chronological order, all times local):
Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz (6) vs. Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury – Not Before 4:00pm on Louis Armstrong Stadium
Krawietz and Puetz have endured a tough draw, with a pair of top 10 wins against teams that have won Majors (Cash and Glasspool, Pavic and Arevalo). The German team were finalists here two years ago, and while Krawietz won two Majors years ago with a different partner, Puetz is still looking to win his first.
Ram and Salisbury won this tournament three years in a row between 2021 and 2023, but the team recently took a sabbatical from competition. Despite being three-time champions, they are the “Cinderella Story” of this draw, having not won a title in over a year. However, they upset the second seeds, Granolllers and Zeballos, in the last round.
Harri Heliovaara and Henry Patten (1) vs. Christian Harrison and Neal Skupski (5) – Last on Louis Armstrong Stadium
Heliovaara and Patten have now won a Major in each of the last three years, including Wimbledon just two months ago. Overall, the top seeds have won eight titles within the past 12 months, and reached three additional finals.
Harrison and Skupski won this year’s Australian Open, but they haven’t won a title since, or even reached a final. And a few months ago at Queen’s Club on grass, Heliovaara and Patten defeated Harrison and Skupski in a deciding-set tiebreak.
Aryna Sabalenka (1) vs. Jessica Pegula (3) – 7:00pm on Arthur Ashe Stadium
After winning her first four rounds in straights, Sabalenka scarcely survived her quarterfinal against Wimbledon champion Linda Noskova, which went all the way to a third-set tiebreak. She’s now reached the semifinals or better at the last nine hard court Majors, though this is the first time since the clay court season began that she’s won five consecutive matches. The top seed has suffered a few bad losses in the last few months, in matches where she held a big lead. While she’s a player who struggled in Major semifinals earlier in her career, Sabalenka is now 8-6 in this round, and claimed seven of her last eight Major semis.
No one on the WTA tour has won more matches this season than Pegula, who notched her 50th victory of the season by coming from behind in the quarterfinals against fellow American Emma Navarro. The 32-year-old has turned around an 0-6 record in Major quarterfinals by now winning four of her last five. But Pegula is 1-2 in Major semis, with her only victory coming two years ago at this event, where she lost to Sabalenka in the final.
And Sabalenka has a considerabke edge in this rivalry, with a record of 9-4. However, Pegula has taken two of their last three, all of which occurred within the last year. This will be their third consecutive year meeting at the US Open, and Sabalenka won both of those matches: a straight-setter in the 2024 final, and a three-setter in the 2025 semifinals.
If Sabalenka can hold her nerve, and her serve, she has the power to dictate play, and take the match out of Pegula’s control. But Sabalenka has been error-prone of late, with Pegula being the much more reliable performer. And Pegula’s much-improved serve is a stronger weapon than ever. So I would not be surprised to see the American pull off the slight upset, and achieve her second Major final.
Coco Gauff (4) vs. Elena Rybakina (2) – Last on Arthur Ashe Stadium
After winning 10 matches in a row, as well as 20 sets in a row, Gauff’s level dropped significantly in the quarterfinals. She had to save match points in the second set tiebreak against Mirra Andreeva, before running away with the third, as Andreeva’s lack of composure showed through. Gauff is 3-3 in Major semis, with an especially painful loss just two months ago in this round of Wimbledon, where she lost in a third-set tiebreak despite having a rather easy put-away while holding a match point.
Rybakina also lost her first set of the fortnight in the last round, but closed out Qinwen Zheng in three. That was an impressive effort from Rybakina, under the pressure of knowing a victory would guarantee she achieves the No.1 ranking for the first time in her career. She is 3-1 in Major semis, though this is her first in New York, where she previously had never advanced beyond the round of 16.
Surprisingly, these two top players have only met twice. Both of those matches took place in Toronto, and both were tight. Four years ago, Gauff prevailed in a third-set tiebreak. But just a few weeks ago, Rybakina prevailed 6-2 in the third.
Given the way Rybakina has been serving through five rounds, and given Gauff’s struggles on Wednesday, this could be a tough matchup for the American. However, no one of the WTA tour defends as well as Gauff does. And with the late-night crowd in New York firmly behind her, I like Coco’s chances of achieving her fourth Major singles final, especially considering Rybakina often does not enjoy playing in front of loud crowds.
Thursday’s full Order of Play is here.
