WTA Finals 2023: Aryna Sabalenka vs Jessica Pegula preview, head-to-head, prediction, odds, and pick

Fixture: (1) Aryna Sabalenka vs (5) Jessica Pegula

Date: October 31, 2023

Tournament:WTA Finals 2023

Round: Group Stage

Venue: Plaza Quintana Roo, Cancun, Mexico

Surface: Hardcourt

Prize money: $9,000,000

Aryna Sabalenka vs Jessica Pegula preview

World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka will take on Jessica Pegula in the group stage of the 2023 WTA Finals on Tuesday.

Sabalenka squared off against Maria Sakkari in her first match of the round robin stage. The Belarusian was just relentless from start to finish as she didn't lose a single game until the very end of the contest.

Sabalenka led 6-0, 5-0 and held three match points on Sakkari's serve at this point, but the latter finally managed to snag a game for herself. It proved to be a brief respite for the Greek as the reigning Australian Open champion served out the match in the next game to win 6-0, 6-1.

Pegula kicked off her campaign here against Elena Rybakina. The American found herself trailing 5-3 in the first set but swept the next four games to take the set. She continued to ride the momentum into the second set as well to go 4-1 up.

Rybakina struck back and secured a break of serve to make it 4-2, but her resistance soon fell apart. Pegula bagged the next couple of games to score a 7-5, 6-2 victory.

Aryna Sabalenka vs Jessica Pegula head-to-head

Sabalenka leads Pegula 4-1 in the head-to-head. The former won their previous encounter at the 2022 WTA Finals in straight sets.

Aryna Sabalenka vs Jessica Pegula odds

(Odds are sourced from BetMGM)

Aryna Sabalenka vs Jessica Pegula prediction

The two are familiar rivals as they've faced off against each other in five matches since 2020. Since losing her very first match against Pegula, Sabalenka has won the next four without even losing a set.

However, three of those wins were on clay, with their most recent battle at last year's WTA Finals being slightly more competitive. Now, a year later, they're set to clash once more at the same venue.

Sabalenka was completely dominant in her match against Sakkari, while Pegula endured a few ups and downs to get the better of Rybakina. The Belarusian's aggressive hitting and strong serving have left the American licking her wounds time and time again.

Sabalenka is trying to seal the year-end No. 1 ranking, so there's extra motivation for her to do well. The determination was quite evident with the beatdown she handed to Sakkari. Given how they played in their respective openers here, the Belarusian will be backed to extend her winning record against Pegula.

Pick: Aryna Sabalenka to win in straight sets.