China Open 2025: Pegula Seals Three-Set Win Over Navarro To Set Up Semi-Final Clash With Noskova

Jessica Pegula booked her spot in the last four of the China Open after defeating Emma Navarro in three sets.

The fifth seed came back from a set down to win 6-7 (2-7) 6-2 6-1 in just over two hours as she overcame a nervy start against her Billie Jean King Cup team-mate.

A series of late breaks in the first saw Navarro force a tiebreak, as she saved six set points against Pegula before securing the lead in emphatic fashion.

However, that was to be Navarro’s last moment of joy as Pegula raised her levels in the following two sets.

She broke Navarro’s serve four times across the second and third, and saved three break points of her own in the decider, before clinching the win with her third match point.

Pegula will face Linda Noskova in the semi-finals in Beijing after the 20-year-old defeated Sonay Kartal in straight sets.

Noskova won 6-3 6-4 as she converted five break points during her one-hour and 11-minute victory.

Data Debrief: American presence felt in China

Coming into this match, Pegula had a 1-47 record when going a set down to an opponent ranked in the WTA top 20. Her previous such victory came against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in Montreal in 2021.

Noskova, meanwhile, qualified for her fourth semi-final of the season and 10th of her career at the WTA level, making her the third player born since 2004 to reach double-digit semi-finals after Coco Gauff and Diana Shnaider.

And with Gauff and Amanda Anisimova facing off in the other last four clash, it marks the second time since 1990 that three Americans have reached the semi-final at a Tier 1/WTA-1000 event outside North America, after Tokyo in 2003 (Monica Seles, Chanda Rubin, Lindsay Davenport and Lisa Raymond).