Top seed Jessica Pegula claimed the Credit One Charleston Open title on Sunday by beating fellow American Sofia Kenin, 6-3 7-5, in the WTA 500 final.
“It’s my first clay-court title, which is really cool. To win it here in Charleston, it’s super special.” Jessica Pegula
With her triumph, Pegula has now won 17 of her last 19 matches, and, with 5 victories this week, has 25 for the season, placing her at No. 1 for most wins on the Hologic WTA Tour, while, on Monday, she supplants Coco Gauff as the top-ranked US player as she rises to a career-high World No. 3.
In the all-American affair, Pegula saw off Kenin in an hour and 26 minutes to claim her 8th WTA singles title, her 2nd of the season following her triumph at the Austin Open in March, and her first singles title on clay.
“Congrats to Sonya on an amazing week – you’ve been playing some good tennis this year,” said Pegula in her presentation ceremony speech. “You’re always a tough opponent. I wish you nothing but the best for the rest of the clay season, to you and your team. I’m sure I’ll be seeing you again very soon.”
“Thanks to my team for always supporting – it’s been a great week.”
The 31-year-old had to turn around a second-set deficit in stunning fashion to prevail in the first all-American final in Charleston in 3 decades, which had looked as if it would extend to 3 sets as the 2020 Australian Open champion, Kenin, built a 5-1 lead after dropping the first.
In the next game, the former World No. 4 held 3 set points on return, but was unable to convert any of them, and she did not create another, leading Pegula to streak to 6 consecutive games to capture the title in dominant style.
Sofia Kenin led 5-1 in the second set but was outclassed by Jessica Pegula in the final of the Credit One Charleston Open
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It might have been a brief exchange with her coach, Mark Merklein, that sparked the turn-around.
“I actually told him, ‘I think I hit a wall.’ I just realised how tired I was,” Pegula said. “She started to play some high-level tennis. There were a couple of games where I didn’t break, I didn’t hold.”
“It was super windy, super tough conditions. I felt like if you just lost focus or stopped moving your feet for a few seconds, it just swings so fast. It was kind of the same way for both of us.”
“In the second set, I just wanted to hold, I just wanted to tell myself to get momentum for the third, because coming into a third like that never feels good. I knew I could break her, too. I honestly didn’t think I was going to break her twice, but luckily, I could play some good tennis.”
Sunday’s final was the first between two US players at this event since Martina Navratilova defeated Jennifer Capriati on Hilton Head Island in 1990.
“It’s my first clay-court title, which is really cool,” said Pegula, holding on to her dog Maddie, a Miniature Australian Shepherd. “To win it here in Charleston, it’s super special.”
Jessica Pegula’s Charleston win sees her rise past Coco Gauff to World No. 3 on Monday
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Pegula had the chance to return to World No. 3, and US No. 1, at the Miami Open last weekend but was beaten by Aryna Sabalenka in the final.
The 31-year-old has bounced back with an impressive run in Charleston and will now hold a slender lead in the rankings over Gauff come Monday.
Pegula will sit on 6,101 points, with Gauff just 38 points behind on 6,063. Although the lead is currently narrow, Pegula holds a significant advantage looking ahead towards the rest of the clay season.
After reaching the semi-final of the Charleston Open in 2024, she missed the rest of the clay swing due to injury and has no ranking points to defend until the grass-court season.
With WTA 1000 events in Madrid and Rome to come ahead of the French Open, Pegula has an opportunity to earn significant points.
In comparison, Gauff has semi-final points to defend at both the Italian Open and Roland Garros, along with further points in Madrid and at the Stuttgart Open.
Pegula could also turn her attention to challenging World No. 2 Iga Swiatek and potentially move to a new career-high.
The Pole is now only 5 points ahead of Pegula in the WTA Race to Riyadh and, having not reached a final this season, is under significant pressure heading into the clay swing.
While Pegula has no points to defend, Swiatek is defending 4,000 points as the reigning Madrid, Rome, and Roland Garros champion, along with further semi-final points at the Stuttgart Open.
Swiatek currently holds 7,470 ranking points, only 1,369 more than Pegula on Monday.
The WTA 500 event in Stuttgart is set to be the next event for both, as well as for World No. 1 Sabalenka and 2023 US Open winner Gauff.
Sofia Kenin’s impressive run in Charleston may have ended in disappointment but sees her rise 10 spots to No. 34 in the world
Facebook/Credit One Charleston Open, Credit One Stadium
Sunday’s defeat was an emotional one for Kenin, who, coming into the final, had yet to drop a set through five matches.
The Floridian was looking to end a 5-year title drought that traces back to 2020, the year she won the Australian Open title and rose to a career-high No. 4 in the PIF WTA Rankings.
The 26-year-old was playing in her first clay-court final since Roland Garros that same year, and while there was disappointment, Kenin’s run to her 10th WTA singles final also sees her move up the rankings.
The former Australian Open champion rises 10 spots to World No. 34 on Monday and is now well-placed to challenge for a French Open seeding.
Top seeds Erin Routliffe & Jelena Ostapenko won the doubles title in Charleston, defeating Caroline Dolehide & Desirae Krawczyk, the 3rd seeds, in the final
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Earlier in the day, Latvia’s Jelena Ostapenko & Erin Routliffe of New Zealand, playing their first tournament together, are the 2025 Credit One Charleston Open doubles champions, after defeating the No. 3-seeded American duo of Desirae Krawczyk & Caroline Dolehide in the title match on Sunday at LTP-Daniel Island, 6-4 6-2.
31-year-old Krawczyk fell short of her 2nd Charleston doubles title in 3 years, having joined compatriot Danielle Collins for a trophy run in 2023.
“It was an amazing week, especially for us playing only the first time,” said Ostapenko. “I think we played better and better every match.”
“It’s awesome,” added Routliffe, who captured the year-end WTA Finals title last year alongside Canada’s Gabriela Dabrowski. “So many people watch doubles here, and we love it in Charleston, and we love this tournament. We’ll definitely come back next year.”
It took Ostapenko & Routliffe an hour and 20 minutes to land the trophy in front of a vocal crowd.
“I think it’s important. I think both of us, when we’re smiling, we’re probably playing our best tennis,” said Routliffe. “For some people, it’s more like business-serious, but I think both of us are lucky because when we’re smiling, we play our best.”
“We said at the beginning of the week that we’re just going to have no pressure and have a lot of fun with it. I think we did a good job with that.”
27-year-old Ostapenko, the 2017 Roland Garros singles champion, has raised 8 trophies on the singles court, and Sunday’s triumph, she says, will pay dividends in both disciplines.
“My priority was always singles, but I feel like the doubles titles also give you confidence,” said Ostapenko, who also reached the Last 16 here in singles.
Last year, Krawczyk & Dolehide reached the Qatar final, made semi-final appearances in Rome, Roland Garros, and Wimbledon, and won the WTA 1000 title in Toronto.
