US Open Tennis 2021 Women's Semifinal: TV Schedule, Start Time, Live Stream

The 2021 U.S. Open women's semifinals pit two teenagers in their first Grand Slam semifinals against a pair of the world's most consistent players.

Thursday night's action inside Arthur Ashe Stadium starts with 19-year-old Canadian Leylah Fernandez facing No. 2 seed Aryna Sabalenka.

Fernandez knocked out a trio of established stars on the WTA Tour in Naomi Osaka, Angelique Kerber and Elina Svitolina to get into the final four.

Sabalenka has been the top remaining seed in the women's singles draw for two rounds since top seed Ashleigh Barty was knocked out. Sabalenka may get her toughest test of the tournament from Fernandez.

The second semifinal features 18-year-old Emma Raducanu and No. 17 seed Maria Sakkari. Sakkari is making her second Grand Slam semifinal appearance of the season. Raducanu has progressed two rounds past her previous best at a major.

Raducanu does not have the list of notable upsets on her U.S. Open resume that Fernandez does, but she has been as impressive during her run to the final four.

The U.S. Open women's semifinals kick off at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN. The matches can be live-streamed on the ESPN app and ESPN.com.

No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka vs. Leylah Fernandez

Frank Franklin II/Associated Press

Fernandez comes up against the toughest opponent of her U.S. Open run on Thursday.

Sabalenka has not dropped a set since the first round in New York. She used straight-set wins over seeded players Elise Mertens and Barbora Krejcikova to confirm her place in the final four.

The No. 2 seed entered the season with a poor record in Grand Slam tournaments. She had not advanced past the fourth round in any of her previous Grand Slam appearances.

Sabalenka broke through at Wimbledon with a semifinal run that ended in a three-set loss to Karolina Pliskova.

The 23-year-old experienced a single slip-up in a set that came in a second-set tiebreak against Nina Stojanovic in the first round. Sabalenka responded by shutting out her Serbian foe in the final set.

An in-form Sabalenka will be tough to break down for Fernandez, who has not been fazed by any of the big moments put in front of her.

Fernandez vaulted into the spotlight with a three-set triumph over Osaka and then she reaffirmed her talent with a victory over Kerber in a three-set battle.

Fernandez showed tremendous fight in the quarterfinals against Svitolina. She won the first set, dropped the second set and then won the match in a final-set tiebreak.

Sabalenka has superior talent, but Fernandez has not let a player's ranking affect her play over the last few rounds in New York.

Thursday's opener has the potential to go the distance, but if Sabalenka is able to jump out to an early lead, she may find the advantage that is good enough to finally end Fernandez's remarkable run.

No. 17 Maria Sakkari vs. Emma Raducanu

Elise Amendola/Associated Press

Raducanu's path to the semifinal round is as remarkable as that of Fernandez because of the story behind it.

The 18-year-old from Great Britain advanced to the main draw as a qualifier. She became the first qualifier to make the semifinal round at the U.S. Open through her win over Belinda Bencic.

Raducanu's path to the semifinals differs from that of Fernandez because she had the draw in the top section open up for her.

American Shelby Rogers, whom Raducanu beat in the fourth round, knocked out Barty in the third round. The other seeded player in that portion of the draw, Jennifer Brady, withdrew on the eve of the tournament because of an injury.

Raducanu's match with Bencic on Wednesday was the first time she faced a seeded player in the tournament. She passed that test with ease and won in straight sets.

Sakkari comes into Thursday's match off a dominant showing against Pliskova in two sets. That win came after a grueling three-plus-hour round-of-16 clash with Bianca Andreescu.

Sakkari owns a slight edge in experience since she played in a Grand Slam semifinal match earlier this year. She fell to eventual French Open champion Krejcikova at Roland Garros.

The semifinal stage from June should help Sakkari prepare for the mental aspect of the semifinal. She proved Wednesday that she can recover from any physical strain to perform at a high level.

The 17th-seeded Greek may be favored more to win Thursday night than Sabalenka because of the opponents Raducanu beat to reach this point.

Sakkari will still face a tough challenge, but it feels like the easier one of the two given how well Fernandez played against the game's top stars.