Jessica Pegula handed big US No 1 opportunity ahead of Emma Raducanu Miami Open clash.
Jessica Pegula is the last US woman standing at the Miami Open following the surprise fourth-round exit of Coco Gauff.
Gauff’s recent struggles continued with a shock 6-4, 6-4 loss to Magda Linette on Monday, whereas Pegula impressed with a confident 6-2, 6-3 victory over 23rd seed Marta Kostyuk.
Having beaten Kostyuk, 32nd seed Anna Kalinskaya, and Bernarda Pera to reach the last eight, the world No 4 will next face Emma Raducanu in Miami.
And, thanks to Gauff’s exit, Pegula has been handed a significant rankings opportunity.
As it stands
Rankings-wise, there have already been two bits of good news for Pegula.
First and foremost, the 31-year-old has matched her run to the quarter-final from 2024, meaning she will not drop any ranking points come next Monday’s update.
Secondly, world No 5 – and US No 3 – Madison Keys was stunned in the third round by Alex Eala, and is set to lose 55 ranking points after failing to match her fourth-round showing from 2024.
Keys has soared up the rankings in 2025 off the back of her run to the Australian Open title and, had results gone her way, could have replaced Pegula as the world No 4.
However, the 30-year-old will sit on 4,949 points next Monday, while Pegula will have a minimum of 5,361 – the number of points she entered the tournament with.
Meanwhile, after falling in the fourth round for the second straight season, world No 3 Gauff will continue to hold 6,063 points come Monday.
Pegula’s chance
Any win from now on in Miami works to Pegula’s advantage from a WTA Rankings perspective, with the American looking to reach her third semi-final at the tournament in the space of four years.
However, Gauff’s surprise exit to Linette – and the world No 3’s slump in form at the start of 2025 – has potentially opened the door for Pegula to regain the US No 1 ranking.
Should Pegula go on to lift the title for the first time, she would move to 6,146 ranking points – and move above her compatriot in the WTA Rankings.
That would move the US Open finalist back level to her career-high ranking of world No 3, though she would have to win the title to achieve that.
She would remain on 5,361 points should she lose to Raducanu in the last eight, while she would have 5,536 points with a semi-final showing, and 5,796 points with a runner-up finish.
Victory in Pegula for Miami would be her fourth title at WTA 1000 level, having previously won the 2022 Guadalajara Open, and back-to-back Canadian Open titles in 2023 and 2024.
The challenge ahead
A return to US No 1 is by no means a given for Pegula, with Raducanu set to provide a tough test in Wednesday’s quarter-final clash.
Raducanu’s four straight wins in Miami represents her best winning run since her stunning US Open triumph in 2021, while it was the Brit that triumphed the last time the two met.
The world No 60 saved a match point in a 4-6, 7-6(5), 7-5 victory over Pegula in Eastbourne last year, though the American won their sole hard court meeting at the 2022 Cincinnati Open.
If Pegula was to beat Raducanu and return to the last four, she would likely face Iga Swiatek in the semi-finals.
World No 2 Swiatek has not won a title since the French Open last year – and has not reached a final since then either – but is an overwhelming favourite to defeat Alex Eala in the last eight.
The Pole holds a narrow 6-4 lead over Pegula in their head-to-head, though Pegula triumphed 6-2, 6-4 the last time they met in the quarter-final of the 2024 US Open.
Should Pegula reach the final, it would likely be world No 1 and top seed ~Aryna Sabalenka~ in the final.