Jessica Pegula saved a match point to beat Linda Noskova 7–6(2), 4–6, 7–5 at the WTA Finals in Indian Wells on November 12 local time. The two-hour, 45-minute victory gave her a 2–1 round-robin record and the second semifinal place from her group.
It is her third appearance in the tournament’s semifinals, following 2023 and 2025. She is also the first player to win a WTA Finals match after saving match point since Simona Halep in 2019.
Sixteen aces and a second-set shift
Pegula hit a career-high 16 aces. Her previous best was 14, also against Noskova, in Berlin earlier this season.
She took an unsettled opening set by winning the tiebreak 7–2, but her first-serve percentage fell from 61% in the first set to 50% in the second. Pegula said that gave Noskova more opportunities to attack her second serve and build a rhythm.
Noskova’s 6–4 second set was enough to guarantee first place in the group. She continued strongly into the decider, moving 2–0 ahead while Pegula still needed the match victory to advance.
A hold after facing match point
After Noskova held for 5–4 in the final set, Pegula double-faulted in her own service game to concede match point. She recovered her serving form in time to hold for 5–5, broke to lead 6–5 and then held again to win the deciding set 7–5.
Pegula said she had reminded herself that this could be her last match of the season and that she wanted to compete in a way she could be proud of. She also wanted another opportunity to remain in the tournament.
Group qualification and the next opponent
The WTA’s report explained that Pegula took second place ahead of Coco Gauff through an advantage in sets won, five to four. Gauff beat Marta Kostyuk in the other match but was eliminated. Noskova had already secured first place, so the two qualifiers reached their thresholds at different stages.
Pegula will meet Mirra Andreeva for the first time on the WTA Tour in the semifinals. She said they had rarely even practised together, leaving some unfamiliarity with each other’s games, and praised her younger opponent’s recent form and energy.
Pegula has a day off to prepare. Noskova will face the winner of the round-robin match between Aryna Sabalenka and Elina Svitolina. The precise semifinal start time remains subject to the tournament’s published order of play.
