Elena Rybakina reached her fifth consecutive Miami Open semifinals, defeating Jessica Pegula 2-6 6-3 6-4.
Australian Open champion Rybakina lost in both the 2023 and 2024 Miami finals, while her American opponent finished runner-up in last year’s tournament.
The 32-year-old Pegula led 4-0 heading into the first set, but Rybakina rallied, blasting 15 aces and saving eight of 10 break points to advance.
She will face world number one Aryna Sabalenka in a rematch of the Australian Open final or unseeded American Haley Baptiste in the semi-finals.
“Playing Jessica is always difficult,” Rybakina, 26, said.
“She started playing well and I was rushed and frustrated, but I’m happy that I managed to bounce back and turn the game around in the second set.”
American fourth seed Coco Gauff and Czech Karolina Muchova will play in the other semifinal on Thursday.
If Gauff reaches the final, she will surpass former world number one Iga Swiatek next week and move up to third place in the WTA rankings.
