Clara Tauson played what was probably her best match of 2026, but it was not enough to seal the ticket for the semi-final of the WTA 1000 tournament in Dubai.
The Danish tennis player gave world number five, Jessica Pegula, a tough run for her money, but lost in three sets with 3-6, 6-2, 4-6 after almost two hours of tennis.
Pegula has shown a consistently high level of tennis over a long period and has reached the semifinals of the last two Grand Slam tournaments.
The Dane reached the final of the same tournament last year and will thus lose several points, which means that she will drop to No. 17 at best when the world rankings are updated on Monday.
Pegula looked dominant at the beginning of the match, where she secured an early break and dictated play, forcing Tauson to always play defensive tennis. The American wrapped up the set in 28 minutes, but Tauson is tenacious by nature and managed to seize the momentum in the second set, where she pulled ahead with a double break to level the match at one set all.
Although she seemed hampered by back trouble, Tauson fought on, but in the end, Pegula used her experience to advance to the semifinals of the Dubai WTA 1000 for the second time in her career.