Jessica Pegula vs. Sofia Kenin — US Open 2026 Second-Round Match Report
Jessica Pegula has played two matches at this US Open and has yet to leave much behind for anyone else.
Elena-Gabriela Ruse managed five games in the first round. Sofia Kenin managed four in the second.
This one was even quicker.
Pegula swept aside the former Australian Open champion 6-3, 6-1 in under an hour, improving on an already comfortable opening-round victory and reaching the third round without dropping a set, losing serve or giving either opponent much reason to believe an opening was coming.
Kenin simply had no weapon that consistently troubled the world No. 3.
Pegula looked less like a player feeling her way into a Grand Slam than one intent on getting somewhere deeper.
And quickly.
Pegula Breaks First and Last in the Opening Set
Kenin was under pressure before she had even settled into the match.
Pegula broke in the opening game and immediately consolidated for 2-0.
From there, the set developed into a sequence of holds.
Kenin got on the board for 2-1. Pegula answered for 3-1. Kenin held again for 3-2 before Pegula moved to 4-2.
The pattern continued through 5-3.
For Kenin, simply staying one break behind was not enough. She had made no impression whatsoever on Pegula’s serve and now had to hold to remain in the set.
She couldn’t.
Pegula broke again.
6-3.
The American had started the set by taking Kenin’s serve and finished it the same way.
Set 1 at a Glance
- Pegula won 100% of net points, 4 of 4, while Kenin managed just 1 of 3.
- Pegula won 3 of 4 pressure points, well ahead of Kenin’s 1 of 4.
- Pegula won 27 of 46 total points, hitting 10 winners to Kenin’s 5.
Full Set 1 Stats
| Pegula | Statistic | Kenin |
|---|---|---|
| Set 1 Duration: 0h30m | ||
| 1.83 | Dominance Ratio | 0.55 |
| 10 | Winners | 5 |
| 6 | Unforced Errors | 10 |
| 307 | Serve Rating | 233 |
| 3 | Aces | 1 |
| 1 | Double Faults | 2 |
| 50% (11/22) | 1st Serve % | 63% (15/24) |
| 82% (9/11) | 1st Serve Points Won | 67% (10/15) |
| 73% (8/11) | 2nd Serve Points Won | 44% (4/9) |
| – (0/0) | Break Points Saved | 33% (1/3) |
| 196 | Return Rating | 45 |
| 33% (5/15) | 1st Return Points Won | 18% (2/11) |
| 56% (5/9) | 2nd Return Points Won | 27% (3/11) |
| 2/3 | Break Points Won | – (0/0) |
| 27 | Total Points Won | 19 |
Five Straight Games Finish the Contest
Any thought that Kenin might use the changeover to reset disappeared almost immediately.
Pegula held for 1-0 and then went after Kenin again.
The second game became a battle, with Kenin saving break points before Pegula finally converted to move 2-0 ahead.
A hold made it 3-0.
Then came another long Kenin service game.
Again, she resisted.
Again, Pegula eventually broke.
4-0.
Pegula held for 5-0, completing a five-game run that had effectively settled the match before Kenin finally stopped it by holding for 5-1.
There was no extension beyond that.
Pegula served out the match in the next game.
6-1.
Fourteen games played.
Twelve won by Pegula.
Set 2 at a Glance
- Pegula won her service games at a perfect 4 of 4, while Kenin managed 1 of 3.
- Pegula won 11 of 22 return points off Kenin’s serve, while Kenin won just 2 of 18 the other way.
- Pegula won 27 of 40 total points, committing just 2 unforced errors to Kenin’s 8.
Full Set 2 Stats
| Pegula | Statistic | Kenin |
|---|---|---|
| Set 2 Duration: 0h27m | ||
| 4.50 | Dominance Ratio | 0.22 |
| 8 | Winners | 4 |
| 2 | Unforced Errors | 8 |
| 347 | Serve Rating | 164 |
| 2 | Aces | 1 |
| 0 | Double Faults | 1 |
| 67% (12/18) | 1st Serve % | 36% (8/22) |
| 92% (11/12) | 1st Serve Points Won | 38% (3/8) |
| 86% (6/7) | 2nd Serve Points Won | 57% (8/14) |
| – (0/0) | Break Points Saved | 60% (3/5) |
| 213 | Return Rating | 22 |
| 63% (5/8) | 1st Return Points Won | 8% (1/12) |
| 43% (6/14) | 2nd Return Points Won | 14% (1/7) |
| 2/5 | Break Points Won | – (0/0) |
| 27 | Total Points Won | 13 |
Kenin Never Even Reaches a Break Point
The score was emphatic.
The statistics were more so.
Kenin did not create a single break point in the entire match.
Pegula won 19 of 22 points behind her first serve, an extraordinary 86 percent, and 14 of 18 behind her second serve.
That meant she won 33 of her 40 service points overall, or 83 percent.
There was almost nowhere for Kenin to attack.
Pegula hit five aces, committed only one double fault and held all eight of her service games.
When Kenin served, the balance reversed. Pegula broke four times from eight opportunities and won 21 of 46 return points.
The winner count was 18-9 in Pegula’s favour.
The unforced-error count told the same story from the other direction: only eight from Pegula against Kenin’s 18.
By the end, Pegula had won 54 of 86 total points, produced a dominance ratio of 2.61 and given away remarkably little.
This was not simply a comfortable straight-sets win.
It was a match Kenin was never equipped to turn.
Two Rounds, Two Straight-Set Wins, No Breaks Conceded
Pegula’s start to the tournament now has a very clean shape.
She opened by beating Elena-Gabriela Ruse 6-3, 6-2.
Now Kenin has gone 6-3, 6-1.
That is 24 games won and nine lost across two rounds.
More significantly, Pegula has still not been broken.
Against Ruse, she faced one break point and saved it. Kenin never even reached one.
The second-round match also stayed below the one-hour mark, making an already efficient opening round look almost leisurely by comparison.
For the No. 3 seed, there has been no wasted energy and very little drama.
At a Grand Slam, that is not a bad way to spend the opening week.
Fernandez Is the First Real Raise in Difficulty
Pegula’s third-round opponent is now confirmed.
Leylah Fernandez awaits after the No. 31 seed beat Mananchaya Sawangkaew 6-4, 6-1 in the second round. RallyHer’s bracket places Pegula and Fernandez together in the third round, with the winner advancing into the second week.
That should ask different questions.
Fernandez has considerably more ability to absorb pace, redirect it and turn baseline exchanges into something uncomfortable. She also arrives having dropped only eight games across her first two matches.
Pegula, however, has given even less away.
Ruse could not break her.
Kenin could not even manufacture the opportunity.
Now Fernandez gets the next attempt.
Pegula Has Made Her Intentions Pretty Clear
There are different ways to begin a Grand Slam.
Some contenders survive early alarms. Some need three sets to find their level. Others spend the opening rounds trying to play themselves into form.
Pegula has done none of those things.
She has simply gone through.
No lost sets. No lost service games. And this time, not even an hour required.
Kenin came into the match with the pedigree of a Grand Slam champion, but there was nothing in her game that made Pegula alter course.
The No. 3 seed gave the impression of being on a mission for more.
Now comes Fernandez.
And for the first time in New York, Pegula may have to slow down long enough to prove just how much more she has in mind.