Sabalenka–Pegula Semifinal Puts ESPN’s U.S. Open Coverage in the Prime-Time Spotlight

Top-seeded Aryna Sabalenka meets No. 3 seed Jessica Pegula in the women’s semifinal at the 2026 U.S. Open tonight, with the victor advancing to Saturday’s championship match against whoever emerges from the Coco Gauff–Elena Rybakina semifinal. The match, scheduled for 7 p.m. ET at Arthur Ashe Stadium in Queens, will be carried on ESPN and ESPN Deportes, with streaming available through ESPN Unlimited and other live TV services.

The tournament is a marquee property for The Walt Disney Company, which holds the U.S. Open broadcast rights across its ESPN networks. Sports programming sits at the center of Disney’s business strategy, and the company’s ESPN segment has been a key driver of its streaming push as live sports becomes one of the few reliably appointment-viewing products on television. Disney shares were trading at $104.80 in recent action, up 0.6% from a prior close of $104.18, with a market capitalization of roughly $181.8 billion.

How to watch the semifinal

• Date and time: Thursday, Sept. 10, 2026, at 7 p.m. ET
• Venue: Arthur Ashe Stadium, USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, Queens, N.Y.
• TV: ESPN (English) and ESPN Deportes (Spanish)
• Streaming: ESPN Unlimited, YouTube TV, DirecTV and other live TV platforms

Rest of the U.S. Open broadcast schedule

ESPN’s coverage runs through the weekend, with all times Eastern:

• Friday, Sept. 11: Women’s doubles championship, noon–2 p.m. (ESPN2); men’s semifinal one at 3 p.m. and men’s semifinal two at 7 p.m., both on ESPN with Spanish-language feeds on ESPN Deportes
• Saturday, Sept. 12: Men’s doubles championship, noon–2 p.m. (ESPN App); women’s championship at 4 p.m. on ESPN, with Spanish-language coverage on ESPN Deportes

For cord-cutters, ESPN Unlimited carries the full tournament, while YouTube TV, DirecTV and similar services offer the linear ESPN channels without a traditional cable subscription.

A Sabalenka–Pegula final would guarantee a marquee matchup, and the Gauff–Rybakina semifinal later tonight adds a second potential headline final depending on the outcome.

What to watch

The remainder of ESPN’s U.S. Open schedule, including this weekend’s singles and doubles championship matches, will be a gauge of the network’s tennis window heading into its fall sports slate. Disney’s next quarterly earnings report will offer updated figures on ESPN streaming subscribers and the Sports segment’s performance, with any commentary on live-event viewership relevant to the company’s media outlook.

Source: original release