Pegula fends off Shnaider to reach fourth final of 2026 in DC

Jessica Pegula looked every bit the part of the American No. 1 on Saturday in Washington, defeating No. 4 seed Diana Shnaider 7-5, 6-4 in 1 hour and 27 minutes to reach her fourth WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz final of the season.

Washington: Scores | Order of play | Draws

The tournament's top seed is back in the Mubadala DC Open final for the second time, returning to the same court where she claimed her first career title in 2019. She will face Alexandra Eala -- who defeated No. 3 seed Naomi Osaka 6-4, 6-2 in the semifinals -- in Sunday's final, with a chance to lift her second trophy in the US capital.

"That week, I think I've said before, was just kind of the monkey off my back," Pegula said in her post-match press conference. "I remember playing a great final. I played really, really well and was able to handle my nerves and all these other emotions I had going in. It was a great week for me."

It's also the same court where she beat Shnaider on Saturday, and while the scoreline suggests it was a straightforward win, the match was anything but.

Pegula quickly fell behind 5-2 in the opening set before ripping off five straight games to steal it from Shnaider's grasp. The run ultimately became part of a larger stretch in which she won 10 of 12 games, building her own 5-2 lead in the second.

"I felt like it was much more humid today. I wasn't moving up to the ball quite as well as I did the day before when it was a little hotter and faster and maybe a little bit drier," Pegula said. "I had to adjust a bit to the conditions and her ball. Luckily, I was able to do that and come back in the first set. But it was only one break, so I was confident that I just had to keep holding on to my serve."

But Shnaider refused to go away, breaking the World No. 3 as she served for the match and closing the gap to 5-4. But Pegula finished the job on her second attempt, sealing the victory with a cracking crosscourt forehand to return to the Washington final for the first time in seven years.

The stat sheet reflected the scoreboard's tight margins, with one notable exception: second-serve return points. Pegula won 64% of those points, compared with Shnaider's 46%.

Pegula will look to continue that edge into Sunday's final as she chases her third title of 2026 and the 12th singles title of her career.

Routliffe, Sutjiadi win DC doubles

New Zealand's Erin Routliffe and Indonesia's Aldila Sutjiadi secured the Washington doubles title with a 6-4, 6-1 win over Andreja Klepac and Makoto Ninomiya. It's the pair's first title together, and Routliffe's second in DC after winning with Pegula back in 2022. They did not drop a set throughout the tournament.

"I love playing in DC," Routliffe said to press. "We're really happy to get the title today. It was our first week together in a while, so we were just really focused on playing the kind of tennis that we want to play and making teams feel uncomfortable."

The duo rejoined forces after three and a half years with both in search of a new partner following Wimbledon. The two teams started discussing their potential partnership during the grass-court season, and now, Routliffe and Sutjiadi said they'll be partners for the remainder of the 2026 season.

"I think we'll see it as a good start for us," Sutjiadi said. "Definitely not as a pressure because we know that every doubles teams are very good. We're just going to do it day by day, match by match. We're going to try our best every time."