Elena Rybakina’s latest loss at the Wuhan Open may have created a huge change to Jessica Pegula’s upcoming schedule.
Sabalenka’s dominance at the Wuhan Open continued as the World No. 1 swept aside Rybakina in straight sets.
Rybakina’s quest for WTA Finals qualification was dealt a blow as she vies for one of the final spots in the top eight alongside Jasmine Paolini.
Pegula, who picked up another win at the Wuhan Open, could massively benefit from Rybakina’s loss at the tournament.
Jessica Pegula could miss tournaments after WTA Finals qualification
Rybakina’s loss means Pegula has now officially confirmed her place at the Saudi Arabia tournament and it might mean she skips the tournaments between the Finals and Wuhan.
Pegula is in the semi-finals of the Wuhan Open after defeating Kateřina Siniaková in a narrow three-set battle.
The American will appear in yet another WTA Tour Finals and she’s already hinted that she could miss tournaments after Wuhan.
Speaking on The Player’s Box, Pegula suggested she would skip Ningbo and Tokyo if she had already qualified thanks to her efforts in Wuhan.
“I mean, my goal is to do well here this week, so I hopefully don’t have to play the next couple of weeks, but we’ll see how it goes,” said Pegula about her Wuhan campaign.
With another semi-final confirmed, as well as WTA Tour Finals qualification, it’s unlikely we’ll see Pegula until the Riyadh tournament.
How Jessica Pegula keeps winning three-set battles
Pegula has now dropped a set in her last eight matches, but she’s managed to win seven of them across the China Open and the Wuhan Open.
The star was asked about how she managed to keep winning gritty battles on the court and she replied: “I guess I’m in really good shape.
“I definitely don’t think I need to play any more matches or work on any physical stuff because I’ve been able to battle through these matches and play really well. But yeah, I don’t know.
“I’m happy I’ve been able to figure things out. Obviously, I wish maybe it was more straightforward for my mental and physical sake, but if I win every match for the rest of my life in three sets, I think I’d be pretty happy.”
Pegula plays Sabalenka on the Wuhan Open’s Centre Court in the opening match of the play on October 11.
