Jessica Pegula overcomes Emma Navarro in battle of the US Open billionaires to set up semifinal showdown with Aryna Sabalenka

Both Jessica Pegula and Emma Navarro have long been adamant about one thing: no one gave them any handouts. They may be the daughters of billionaires and the heiresses to business empires worth a combined $15billion. But no leg of their long road to Arthur Ashe Stadium was easy. Or bought.

There were times in this all-American clash, however, when both Pegula and Navarro seemed intent on offering their opponent a shortcut toward the US Open semifinals.

Between them, they hit 10 double faults in a tense, trying opening set that Navarro took 6-3. Time and again they broke serve and then immediately ceded that advantage.

But Pegula has made a habit of reviving herself from slow starts and the No 3 seed levelled this match after Navarro – with the second set on a knife edge – hit another costly double fault.

No prizes for guessing what happened in the decider. More crucial double faults. More missed opportunities. More back-to-back breaks of serve.

Until eventually, after nearly two hours, Pegula completed her comeback to reach the last four with a 3-6 6-4 6-3 win.

It had precious little of the drama that Frances Tiafoe and Alex Michelsen delivered a few hours earlier. Frankly, it wasn’t a great watch at all. And that felt particularly cruel on this Arthur Ashe crowd – their evening session started more than an hour late and every twist in this quarterfinal meant a longer wait for Ben Shelton’s blockbuster clash with Carlos Alcaraz.

By the end, there were long, tired faces in the stands and even ironic cheers as the end of this quarterfinal edged closer.

Not that Pegula will care one jot. She can play far better than this and she will need to with Aryna Sabalenka standing between the No 3 seed and a second US Open final.

With this win, she has at least sealed $1.45million in prize money. Not that it would have made much difference to either family’s coffers.

Navarro’s father, Ben, made a fortune in credit cards and debt collection. His net worth is estimated to be $3.2billion.

As for Pegula? Her dad, Terry, grew rich through oil and gas and – together with his wife, Kim – now owns the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres and the NFL’s Buffalo Bills. The Pegulas are thought to be worth nearly $12billion.

By the time the family amassed its fortune, however, Pegula was already a teenager and on her way toward the top of tennis.

She has risen to become the highest-ranked American woman in the world. But still a major title eludes her.

Navarro, meanwhile, will rue this loss and this missed opportunity to reach a second US Open semifinal. But the 25-year-old, who was forced to take two months off earlier this year after struggles with her health, can still reflect on a fine end to 2026. She will be back.

On Tuesday night, it took almost half an hour for Pegula and Navarro to finish the opening five games as these American rivals traded double faults and breaks of serve. Pegula missed five second serves in her opening three service games and it didn’t take long for the No 3 seed’s emotions to boil over.

Navarro left the door ajar with wobbles of her own – she, too, made five double faults in the opening set – but after Pegula converted just one of five break-point opportunities, the underdog took the first set 6-3.

From there, thankfully, the double faults subsided for a while. Instead these two tussled their way to 4-4 in the second set. Pegula held serve, Navarro stumbled – at 4-5, 30-30, the No 26 seed hit her sixth double fault of the match. That was all Pegula needed to tie things up.

Forty-five minutes later, when she finally won this arm wrestle, Pegula clenched her fist and let out a roar of relief. She wasn’t the only one who was glad this was over.