USA's Jessica Pegula celebrates her victory over USA's Sofia Kenin during their women's singles second round tennis match on day four of the US Open tennis tournament at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York City on September 2, 2026. (Photo by TIMOTHY A. CLARY / AFP)
World number three Jessica Pegula raced into the third round of the US Open on Wednesday, dominating on serve in a 6-3, 6-1 victory over compatriot Sofia Kenin.
Pegula needed just 56 minutes to get past Kenin, the former Australian Open champion now ranked 110th, dropping just seven points on serve.
"I was just trying to stay focused on what I needed to do," said Pegula, who is among a trio of players who could supplant Aryna Sabalenka atop the world rankings in New York.
Pegula, who reached the US Open final in 2024, next meets another former finalist, Leylah Fernandez.
The Canadian breezed past Thailand's Mananchaya Sawangkaew 6-4, 6-1.
Defending champions Carlos Alcaraz and Aryna Sabalenka highlighted the day-four action.
World number one Sabalenka, gunning for a rare US Open three-peat, takes on 160th-ranked Russian qualifier Polina Iatcenko before second-ranked Alcaraz caps the night session against Portugal's Jaime Faria.
Alcaraz won his seventh major title at the Australian Open in January but arrived in New York an unknown quantity after a wrist injury forced a four-month layoff that saw him miss Roland Garros and Wimbledon.
He dispelled doubts with a straight-set victory over Roman Safiullin and will look for further improvement against 72nd-ranked Faria.
Other seeded players chasing third-round berths on Wednesday included seventh-seeded former champion Daniil Medvedev, eighth-seeded American Ben Shelton and his 11th-seeded compatriot Frances Tiafoe.
Meanwhile, sixth-seeded Australian Alex de Minaur was hoping to finally get his campaign underway in a first-round match against Italian Andrea Guerrieri that was postponed from Tuesday by rain.
