The semifinals for the 2024 US Open ladies’s singles bracket are actually set. In a single half of the bracket, the second-seeded Aryna Sabalenka will tackle American Emma Navarro, the No. 13 seed. Within the different half, the unseeded Karolina Muchova is the one remaining unseeded participant, and he or she’ll have her arms full attempting to finest Jessica Pegula, the sixth-seeded American.
Navarro and Sabalenka performed on Tuesday, whereas the ultimate semifinal match was decided on Wednesday night, when Pegula confronted Iga Swiatek, the highest seed. Swiatek has been essentially the most dominant participant within the ladies’s recreation for the final couple years, however she had few solutions for Pegula, who makes it into her first ever Grand Slam semifinal.
The primary set was all Pegula, however Swiatek confirmed life within the second. After getting damaged early by Pegula, Swiatek broke again to remain in it. A 15-point back-and-forth later within the set had Swiatek combating to remain on observe, however in the end she was damaged after a forehand unforced error. A visibly annoyed Swiatek didn’t have a lot to supply after that.
Muchova has had a wild run to this point. Along with dropping the always-tough Naomi Osaka within the second spherical, she has notched back-to-back straight-set victories over seeded competitors. That features her Spherical of 16 opponent, the fifth-seeded Jasmine Paolini (6-3, 6-3), and her quarterfinal opponent, No. 22 Beatriz Haddad Maia (6-1, 6-4).
The 28-year-old Czech might be taking part in in her second US Open semifinal, having reached it final 12 months as effectively. Her finest displaying at a Slam so far was an look within the French Open closing in 2023. Her win over Maia on Wednesday was a high quality displaying, with Muchova profitable 78 p.c of her first serves, and managed 4 breaks to seal the victory.
Pegula has gained her solely match in opposition to Muchova, and on a tough courtroom within the lead-up to this event in Cincinnati.
Sabalenka and Navarro have confronted one another simply twice earlier than, splitting the matchups. Navarro has gained their solely outing on laborious courts, whereas Sabalenka bested her on clay on the French Open earlier this 12 months. So far as success on the courtroom goes, the 26-year-old Sabalenka has extra accolades to her title. She’s received two main Grand Slam wins, each on the Australian Open, and received a type of wins firstly of this season.
Then there’s Navarro, who at the moment enjoys a career-best No. 12 rating in singles play. The 23-year-old might be taking part in in her first ever Slam semifinal, her earlier finest being a quarterfinal look at Wimbledon. In reality, she has reached her finest end in all 4 Slams this 12 months, making it to the third spherical in Australia, and the fourth spherical in France as effectively.
Sabalenka’s finest wins to this point have are available in her final two conferences, each straight-set victories over seeded opponents in No. 33 Elise Mertens (6-2, 6-4), and No. 7 Qinwen Zheng, 6-1, 6-2. Zheng was coming off an Olympic gold medal victory, however Sabalenka had little bother dispatching her. Navarro’s largest win on her approach to the semifinal got here within the Spherical of 16 in opposition to the third-seeded American, Coco Gauff. Navarro wanted three units, however in the end got here out on prime, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3.
Swiatek has had a implausible few years of tennis outcomes, although she’d like to wash a few of her extra inconsistent outings. Whereas she has 4 victories on the French Open, and picked up a win on the US Open in 2022, she didn’t handle career-bests on the Australian Open or Wimbledon this season (her finest finishes nonetheless being the semifinals on the former and the quarterfinals of the latter).
Most lately, she earned the bronze medal on the Olympics, which is clearly an achievement however a lesser one to what was anticipated of her: gold. She fell to the eventual gold medalist, Zheng Qinwen, in straight units, earlier than beating Anna Karolina Schmiedlova within the bronze medal match. This end on the US Open is a disappointment for her, although it’s extra of a setback than anything for the 23-year-old.
The ladies’s semifinals are set for Thursday, Sept. 5. Play might be on the primary courts of Arthur Ashe Stadium, starting with the primary of two matchups at 7 p.m. ET. ESPN and ESPN Plus have tv and streaming rights for the event, and each semifinals might be featured on the previous. Under, you will discover the schedule for the ladies’s semifinals and beneath that, a take a look at every competitor’s path via the event to the penultimate spherical.
US Open tennis ladies’s semifinals
No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka vs. No. 13 Emma NavarroKarolina Muchova vs. No. 6 Jessica Pegula
No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka’s path to the semifinal
def. Priscilla Hon, 6-3, 6-3def. Lucia Bronzetti, 6-3, 6-1def. No. 29 Ekaterina Alexandrova 2-6, 1-6, 6-2def. No. 33 Elise Mertens, 6-2, 6-4def. No. 7 Qinwen Zheng, 6-1, 6-2
No. 13 Emma Navarro’s path to the semifinal
def. Anna Blinkova, 6-1, 6-1def. Arantxa Rus, 6-1, 6-1def. No. 19 Marta Kostyuk, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3def. No. 3 Coco Gauff, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3def. No. 26 Paula Badosa, 6-2, 7-5
Karolina Muchova’s path to the semifinal
def. Katie Volynets, 6-3, 7-5def. Naomi Osaka, 6-3, 7-6(5)def. Anastasia Potapova, 6-4, 6-2def. No. 5 Jasmine Paolini, 6-3, 6-3def. No. 22 Beatriz Haddad Maia, 6-1, 6-4
No. 6 Jessica Pegula’s path to the semifinal
def. Shelby Rogers 6-4, 6-3def. Sofia Kenin, 7-6(4), 6-3def. Jessica Bouzas Maneiro, 6-3, 6-3def. Diana Shnaider, 6-4, 6-2def. No. 1 Iga Swiatek, 6-2, 6-4
