Jessica Pegula wins her first clay court title in Charleston

Jessica Pegula (photo by Daniel Ward)

 
For the third year in a row, Jessica Pegula reached the semifinals of the Credit One Charleston Open. This time was different, though, in that the world number 4 made it all the way to the final. And she did even better than that--Pegula defeated Sofia Kenin 6-3, 7-5 in the final to claim the championhsip. When the rankings are published tomorrow, Pegula will be the highest-ranked U.S. player. This is her ninth title, and her first title on clay.

 

Jessica Pegula (photo by Daniel Ward)

Pegula, the number 1 seed, took the first set fairly easily, but then wilted a bit. Kenin, as one would expect, took advantage of what appeared to be some fatigue on Pegula's part--Pegula made a run to the Miami final last week and had acknowledged that she was tired--and went up 5-1. But Pegula's reputation as a smart, level-headed tactician served her well. And Kenin, for her part, seemed to implode (not unlike Danielle Collins in her quarterfinal match against Pegula), though, in this case, there was evidence that she may not have been feeling her best physically. Pegula won the next six games, and that was that. 

 

Sofia Kenin (photo by Daniel Ward)

 
 After the match, Pegula confirmed that fatigue was an issue:

"I just got really tired because I think I was like realizing I was going to go to a third; and I was kind of like, oh, I don't know if I can do this again. Like I've done this the last couple matches. Even in Miami, playing a couple tough three sets.

"And I think it's just more emotionally draining than anything, but I think at the same time sometimes I've done it before in the past where once you kind of like accept that you're not trying to fake on it or force it, you're like, okay, I'm tired. How do I figure this out? And I think sometimes when you can kind of relax, take a breath and refocus, that sometimes that can help, and I think it actually did help me today."

Earlier in the day, top seeds Alona Ostapenko and Erin Routliffe won the doubles championship, defeating 3rd seeds Caroline Dolehide and Desirae Krawczyk 6-4, 6-2. Ostapenko hadn't planned to play doubles in Charleston. However, Routliffe found herself without a partner--her regular partner, Gabriela Dabrowski, decided to take a little time off--so she asked Ostapenko to play with her, and Ostapenko happily accepted the invitation.

Erin Routliffe and Alona Ostapenko (photo by Daniel Warsd)

 

Erin Routliffe and Alona Ostapenko (photo by Daniel Ward)

This result made me think of something similar that happened in Charleston in 2013. Lucie Safarova, the defending doubles champion, didn't have a partner. Neither did Kiki Mladenovic, so--right before the tournament began--they entered as a team. (In those days, some of us liked to say that a winning team was "Mladenovic and Anybody"--substitute "Siniakova" today.) Safarova had never played doubles together before; in fact, they had never practiced together. I asked Lucie how she thought they would do, and she gave me a strong "what do you think?" side eye. They won the tournament.

I'm not used to watching the Charleston Open on television. I attend ever year--it's one of my favorite things to do--but this year, I was unable to. It was gratifying to hear both hosts and players at the Tennis Channel desk talk about all the things that make the event so great. 

In addition to having new champions, some other big news came out of Charleston today. First, Credit One has agreed to be the title sponsor through 2031. Also, starting next year, the Charleston Open will offer equal prize money.

Top seed Jessica Pegula to face unseeded Sofia Kenin in Charleston final

Sofia Kenin, Jessica Pegula (photos by Daniel Ward)

 

 

 

 

Today was a windy day on Daniel Island, and Jessica Pegula and Ekaterina Alexandrova, had to make constant adjustments in order to compete effectively in their semifinal. Alexandrova is not an easy opponent for Pegula, who said, after the match: "It's been the same kind of story line in the past when I played her; played good first set, she comes back in the second, and then usually I tend to lose the third. So glad I was able to flip that script today."

Pegula had more nice things to say about her opponent: "She's really good. She's a really good player. I mean, there's a reason she beats a lot of players. She can play at a really high level. Her game is tough to play against, the way she strikes the ball, when she serving well, returning well."

Each player dominated for a set, and the third set was all that spectators could have hoped for. The match, which featured thirteen breaks of serve, lasted two hour and twenty minutes, and, in the end, it was Pegula--known for her consistency--who was the more consistent, defeating Alexandrova 2-6, 6-2, 7-5. 

Ekaterina Alexandrova (photo by Daniel Ward)

This was Pegula's third consecutive Charleston semifinal. In 2023, she lost to eventual runner-up Belinda Bencic (who was also the defending champion), and last year, she lost to Daria Kasatkina, who was also the eventual runner-up.

The other semifinal was, unfortunately, a different story. I was expecting quite a battle between Sofia Kenin and Amanda Anisimova, but after the third game of the first set, Anisimova sustained a right hip injury and had to get treatment. With Kenin leading 5-2 in that set, Anisimova had to retire. 

Sofia Kenin and Amanda Anisimova (photo b Daniel Ward)

The last time that Kenin, who is unseeded, was in a clay court final was in 2020, but it was a big one--the French Open. Kenin won the Australian Open that year, and then had an excellent run in Paris, defeating both Danielle Collins and Petra Kvitova. She fell, however, to Iga Swiatek in the final. Since that time, she has not had the same success on the tour; however, this week in Charleston, Kenin has been playing superb tennis, taking out a resurgent Belinda Bencic, 5th seed Daria Kasatkina, and Anna Kalinskaya. 

Pegula is 3-2 against Kenin. One of Kenin's victories took place in the third round of the 2021 French Open, when Kenin was the defending champion.

Tomorrow will mark the first time in 35 years that two women from the USA meet in the Charleston final; in 1990, Martina Navratilova defeated Jennifer Capriati.

We also have doubles finalists. Top seeds Aļona Ostapenko and Erin Routliffe will face off against 3rd seeds Caroline Dolehide and Desirae Krawczyk.

Paths to the final:

JESSICA PEGULA (1)
round 1--bye
round 2--def. Irina Shymanovich
round 3--def. Ajla Tomljanovic
quarterfinals--def. Danielle Collins (7)
semifinals--def. Ekaterina Alexandrova (9)

SOFIA KENIN 
round 1--def. Bernada Pera
round 2--def. Belinda Bencic (17)
round 3--def. Daria Kasatkina (5)
quarterfinals--def. Anna Kalinskaya (24)
semifinals--def. Amanda Anisimova (8) (ret.)

Pegula to play third consecutive semifinal in Charleston today

Jessica Pegula, Ekaterina Alexandrova (photos by Daniel Ward)

When Jessica Pegula walks onto the court today, she'll be making her third consecutive semifinal appearance in Charleston; she lost to Belinda Bencic in 2023 and to Daria Kasatkina in 2024. It will also be her eighth appearance at the Charleston Open. Pegula, currently ranked number 4 in the world, is the top seed in Charleston.

Pegula, who holds an 18-12 tour level semifinal win record, will face 9th seed Ekaterina Alexandrova in today's semifinal. The Russian player has a 2-1 record against the top seed, but her one loss to her was on clay (Rome, 2021). This is Alexandrova's fourth appearance in Charleston, and her second appearance in semifinals--she lost to eventual champion Belinda Bencic in 2022.

Amanda Anisimova, Sofia Kenin (photos by Daniel Ward)

In today's second semifinal, 8th seed Amanda Anisimova takes on unseeded Sofia Kenin. This is Anisimova's second run to the Charleston semifinals; she lost to Ons Jabeur in 2022. A win for Anisimova today would mark her best WTA 500 performance.

This is Kenin's seventh appearance at the Charleston Open; prior to this week, she had never made it past the second round. Kenin played her only other clay court semifinal in 2020 at the French Open, where she would go on to be a finalist. She and Anisimova have played each other only twice before, in 2017; Anisimova won their match on clay.

Unseeded Sofia Kenin advances to Charleston semifinals

Sofia Kenin (photo by Daniel Ward)

2020 Australian Open champion and French Open runner-up Sofia Kenin, unseeded at the Credit One Charleston Open, found her game in a big way this week, taking out a resurgent Belinda Bencic, 5th seed Daria Kasatkina and, today, Anna Kalinskaya, 6-4, 6-3. Kenin, who has yet to drop a set, will face Amanda Anisimova in the semifinals.

One of the things that commentators talked about today was that--when she's "on"--it's very difficult for anyone to beat Kenin. And something that I remember about her run to both the Australian and French Open finals five years ago was her blessedly short memory; when she made an error or a wrong shot choice, she just moved on, with no energy wasted on regret or anger.

Jessica Pegula (photo by Daniel Ward)

In today's first quarterfinal, top seed Jessica Pegula faced off against defending champion Danielle Collins, and nothing about that match felt like anything what I imagine most people were expecting. Collins steamrolled through the first set, taking it 6-1. And while I doubt that anyone thought that Pegula was going to just roll over in the second set (and she didn't), I also don't think that anyone was expecting Collins to implode. The 7th seed began making uncharacteristic errors--and then continued making them, easing the way for Pegula to defeat her, 1-6, 6-3, 6-0. 

Collins looked out of sorts in the second and third sets, and later--when she met with the press--she said that she was feeling out of sorts in the first set, too, despite her dominant display. When a member of the media remarked that Collins must have been feeling pretty good after the first set, she replied that " Yeah. Surprising that I actually wasn't. I think I just got into my own head about stuff and just didn't--wasn't--yeah, wasn't in a positive mindset today, and it cost me the match."

Pegula is now 6-0 against Collins.

Ekaterina Alexandrova (photo by Daniel Ward)

9th seed Ekaterina Alexandrova won her quarterfinal match against an injured Zheng Qinwen, whose ongoing arm/elbow injury disabled her excellent serve. Alexandrova held her nerve--something players don't always do against elite injured opponents--and defeated Zheng 6-1, 6-4.

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Amanda Anisimova (photo by Daniel Ward)

And finally, two more USA players contested the last quarterfinal--8th seed Amanda Anisimova and 4th seed Emma Navarro. The stands were packed, and the players didn't disappoint. Anisimova won a tight first set 7-5, which was followed by six breaks in a row. Navarro then held, but was immediately broken. About this time, the commentators declared Anisimova to be cooked, but the Doha champion begged to differ, and at 5-all, she broke Navarro's serve.

To add to the drama, Anisimova then had to have a blister treated. Following the treatment, she served for the match, but was broken (of course), which led to a second set tiebreak, which Anisimova won decisively, giving her a 7-6, 7-6(1) victory. Anisimova is now 3-0 against Navarro.

 Here is the semifinal singles draw:

Jessica Pegula (1) vs. Ekaterina Alexandrova (9)
Amanda Anisimova (8) vs. Sofia Kenin

The semifinals are also set in doubles. Top seeds Alona Ostapenko and Erin Routliffe will play Hailey Baptiste and Caty McNally, and 3rd seeds Caroline Dolehide and Desirae Krawczyk will compete against Diana Shnaider and Peyton Stearns.

I know what it means to miss--Charleston

Patty Schnyder in 2005 (photo by Diane Elayne Dees)

The first time I attended the Charleston Open, which was the Family Circle Cup back then, was in 2005. I went for the latter half of the tournament, and on a very chilly morning, I saw my first match, in which Patty Schnyder played Klara Koukalova. It was so cold that the players kept their warmup clothes on throughout the match. I was a Schnyder fan, so this third round match was perfect for me, especially since Schnyder won it.

I stayed in Summerville that year, and--for several years after that--I stayed in Mount Pleasant. You can watch the tournament on television, but you can't really experience the vibe that is the Charleston Open unless you're there. With the exception of 2020, when the event was canceled, and 2021, when a few of us covered the tournament (plus an extra WTA 250 tournament) virtually, I attended every year. Until this year. I tried to make it work, but this year, I was unable to go, so I'm watching it on TV, and it's rather emotional for me because I really want to be there.

(photo by Diane Elayne Dees)

The event, which used to be held in Hilton Head, has a long and rich history. The longest-running women's tournament in the U.S., it's also the only green clay tournament. The palm and palmetto trees of Daniel Island give the Charleston Open a different look from other tennis events, and the green of the trees--along with the green of the court surfaces--adds to the beauty of the venue. The players love it: For the last three years, they've voted it the best 500 tournament on the tour. That's because the atmosphere is very relaxing, the grounds are beautiful, and the players are given the kind of  personalized, special treatment that makes them want to return.

(photo by Diane Elayne Dees)

Before the already-attractive tournament site got a beautiful re-do with significant upgrades, the media worked in a building known as the "media tent," which shook during thunderstorms. Once, while Jelena Jankovic (who--though not quite as big a Charleston rock star as Schnyder became--was nevertheless a huge crowd favorite) was in the stadium playing a night match, the building shook so hard that a couple of us--remembering the famous 2011 New Haven earthquake incident--simply looked at each other and said "Jankovic." 

The weather could be crazy--blazing hot in the daytime, and freezing at night. In 2007, a tornado hit the stadium, knocking down several items (though, many of us noted, not the Justine Henin banner--it wouldn't dare). And in 2017, a combination rain-hail storm forced us to evacuate the media tent--but only after we had each donned a garbage bag.

just hanging out behind the media tent (photo by Diane Elayne Dees)

I'm not a fan of exhibition matches, but I saw one, many years ago, in Charleston that was so funny I laughed about it for weeks. The two stand-out participants were Gisela Dulko and Flavia Pennetta, who were hilarious. 

Charleston crowds tend to be different from other crowds. When Vera Zvonareva performed her famous racket break--surely the greatest such break in WTA history--other crowds would have booed her, but the people in the Charleston stands cheered her on. And when Yulia Putintseva started yelling in the middle of a match, the crowd yelled along with her. Charleston fans also love doubles, and the stands are always packed. And Charleston Open attendees are quick to support lesser known players.

I could go on and on, but really, you have to be there. As a member of the tennis media, I should point out that Charleston's media volunteers are the cream of the crop. Again, you have to be there to truly appreciate the vibe. I'll get through this, and I'll keep watching the tournament on television while the camera-toting half of Women Who Serve, my friend Daniel Ward, keeps me supplied with his wonderful photos. But I miss being there. I miss Charleston.

tournament grounds at night (photo by Diane Elayne Dees)

Top seed Pegula advances to quarterfinals at Charleston Open

Jessica Pegula (photo by Daniel Ward)

Jessica Pegula, seeded number 1 at the Credit One Charleston Open, advanced to the quarterfinals today when she defeated Ajla Tomljanovic 6-3, 6-2. Pegula's quarterfinal opponent will be none other than defending champion and 7th seed Danielle Collins, who advanced when she defeated 2017 finalist and 11th seed Alona Ostapenko. 

The highly anticipated Ostapenko-Collins match, which was played on the Althea Gibson Club Court, lived up to expectations, especially in the first set, which Ostapenko led. However, when the Latvian star served for the set, she was broken, and Collins would go on to win that set 7-5. Collins then took the second set 6-3. 

Danielle Collins (photo by Daniel Ward)

And while it's "only a quarterfinal," the contest between the top seed and the defending champion has the potential to be dramatic and exciting; both are playing very well. It should be noted, however, that Pegula has a 5-0 record against Collins. The last time they played each other was at the 2023 French Open, and Pegula won their first round match.

Theirs will not be the only quarterfinal featuring two players from the USA. 8th seed Amanda Anisimova will play 4th seed Emma Navarro; Navarro defeated another USA player, Ashlyn Krueger, in the third round. There was potential for yet another USA vs. USA match, but 2nd seed (and 2019 champion) Madison Keys fell to Anna Kalinskaya in straight sets. Kalinskaya will play the remaining player from the USA, Sofia Kenin, the only unseeded player remaining in the draw. Kenin had to fight hard against 5th seed (and 2017 champion) Daria Kasatkina, who came from behind to force a second set tiebreak, then saved three match points.

Emma Navarro (photo by Daniel Ward)

 

Here is the quarterfinal singles draw:

Jessica Pegula (1) vs. Danielle Collins (7)
Zheng Qinwen (3) vs. Ekaterina Alexandrova (9)
Amanda Anisimova (8) vs. Emma Navarro (4)
Sofia Kenin vs. Anna Kalinskaya (14)