Aryna Sabalenka collapsed to a three-set loss to Jessica Pegula in the semi-finals at the 2026 Berlin Open, but how has the result impacted the WTA Rankings?
World No 1 Sabalenka was beaten 6-4, 6-7(4), 6-0 by fourth-ranked Pegula in the last four at the grass-court WTA 500 tournament.
In a contest affected by rain delays in the German capital, Pegula earned the only break of the opening set in the third game.
Sabalenka responded by breaking in the second game of the second set, but she was unable to convert two set points on Pegula’s serve at 5-2 and was broken serving for the set at 5-3.
The Belarusian found herself facing a 1-3 deficit in the tiebreak when play was suspended due to rain, but she won six of the next seven points when the match resumed to force a decider.
In the third set, though, Sabalenka fell apart as she won just 13 of the 42 points and failed to win a game, with her 32-year-old American rival cruising to the finish line.
The four-time Grand Slam winner has now lost the final set 6-0 in her last two defeats, having capitulated against Diana Shnaider in the Roland Garros quarter-finals earlier this month.
More Tennis News
Aryna Sabalenka thinks she has found the WTA Tour’s next ‘superstar’
Jannik Sinner or Carlos Alcaraz? Former world No 2 reveals who he prefers
Want more from Tennis365? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for tennis coverage you can trust.
After earning her fourth win in 13 matches against Sabalenka, Pegula said: “She came out and ripped a bunch of winners [after the rain delay in the second set tiebreak], and I told myself ‘I guess I wanted to win in the hard way anyway.’
“I don’t get super emotional. People used to tell me when I was younger that I need to yell more and jump up and down.
“Honestly, it feels like a waste of energy to me. I just try to be myself.”
Sabalenka started the week on 9,090 points in the WTA Rankings, and her points total will remain the same after her semi-final exit in Berlin.
This is because Sabalenka has defended her points from the 2025 Berlin Open, having reached the same stage of the tournament 12 months ago.
The world No 1’s lead over second-ranked Elena Rybakina is 947 points, which is exactly the same as it was before play began this week as the latter fell in the second round in Berlin.
Sabalenka has, therefore, missed an opportunity to stretch her lead at the top of the rankings.
Pegula’s run to the final has increased her points tally by 324 to 6,380, which puts her 353 adrift of world No 3 Iga Swiatek.
The post How Aryna Sabalenka’s Berlin Open collapse against Jessica Pegula affects WTA Rankings appeared first on Tennis365.
Leave a Reply