On Thursday, the final four players in the US Open women’s draw will take center court, hoping to earn their ticket to the championship competition this weekend.
- Watch the US Open on DirecTV streaming Y ESPN+
- Where: USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center (Flushing, New York)
- Weather: 11 a.m. ET (ESPN+)
- Channel: ESPN, ESPN Sports (12:00 p.m.)
- Stream: DirecTV Stream, FuboTV, Sling, ESPN+ (Individual Cuts)
(5) ONS JABEUR vs. (17) CAROLINE GARCIA (7 p.m. ET)
After making Wimbledon history by becoming the first Arab player to reach a Grand Slam championship match, Jabeur is looking for more in Queens. In what has undoubtedly been his best run at the US Open, the Tunisian star has shown only minor weaknesses in his second Grand Slam semi-final, dropping a set along the way. He struggled to overcome Ajla Tomljanovic in the quarterfinals and needed a second set tie break to advance.
Garcia might not be getting a welcome wagon Thursday night, despite having a dominant tournament. The Frenchwoman hasn’t dropped a set in this streak in New York, including pretty convincing wins over Alison Riske and growing fan favorite Coco Gauff in her last two matches. This is the furthest the veteran has gone at a major, as she had only reached the quarterfinals once before, at the 2017 French Open. Garcia had also never made it past the third round at the US Open before this year.
This will be the third time these two have met, with their previous two matches also at Grand Slam tournaments. Jabeur defeated Garcia in the first round of the 2019 US Open, before winning in their second round meeting at the Australian Open in 2020.
- Watch the US Open on DirecTV streaming Y ESPN+
(1) IGA SWIATEK vs. (6) ARYNA SABALENKA (8:15 p.m. ET)
After an impressive third-round exit at Wimbledon in July, Swiatek is back in contention for the main title. The two-time French Open champion has only dropped one set so far in New York, arguably the best US Open performance of his career. She is coming off his eighth win over a top 10 opponent in straight sets, where he defeated world no. Jessica Pegula, seeded 8, on Wednesday. Swiatek, who is trying to become the first woman to win two majors in a calendar year since Angelique Kerber in 2016, is making her second semifinal appearance at a hard-court Grand Slam.
For the second year in a row, Sabalenka has made her ticket to the US Open semifinals. It has not been an easy run for the player from Russia, as she had to go the distance in a couple of her matches before Thursday, including defeating American Danielle Rollins in the fourth round. However, she seemed very comfortable in her quarterfinal match against Karolina Pliskova in straight sets (6-1, 7-6). Sabalenka has lost in each of her first two Grand Slam semifinals, including her loss to last year’s runner-up Leylah Annie Fernandez in Queens last year.
This will be the fifth meeting between the two, but first in a Grand Slam Tournament. Swiatek is 3-1 against Sabalenka, including a straight-set win at the Italian Open in May.
Find the full US Open draws and results here
