Deep into clay seaon, more questions than answers

BACK TO BACK TITLES 🏆😤

🧱Rouen
🧱 Madrid@marta_kostyuk | #MMOPEN pic.twitter.com/cB0ptHc6FS

— wta (@WTA) May 2, 2026

Charleston, Linz, Stuttgart, and Madrid are already in the past, as well as a few 250 clay tournaments. The 500 champions are Jessica Pegula (Charleston), Mirra Andreeva (Linz) and Elena Rybakina (Stuttgart). And now we have our first 1000 champion--Marta Kostyuk. Coming up are one more 1000-level event, the Italian Open, and one more 500-level event, in Strasbourg.

Missing--so far--among the winners are world number 1 Aryna Sabalenka and four-time French Open champion Iga Swiatek. And the "surprise" (not to me, but more on that later) winner is Kostyuk, who defeated Andreeva in today's Madrid final.

Kostyuk has shown not only talent, but super athleticism, for some time. However, her inability to control her on-court mentality led to what had to be a very frustrating inconsistency. However, last month she won a 250-level clay court tournament in Rouen, France. And perhaps even more important--though she lost to Sabalenka in the Brisbane final--Kostyuk upset three top ten players: Amanda Anisimova, Mirra Andreeva and Jessica Pegula. 

The Ukrainian player explained recently that "...I've always wanted to change my overall perspective on tennis. For me it was always very, very emotional, and I would spend a lot of energy. Everything would matter so much to me. Whether it was wins or losses, it was very difficult to live in this constant emotional bombing from the inside."

Kostyuk credits psychotherapy for helping her change her mentality. "It's not an easy road. It's a very ugly road, I would say. But I always knew how I wanted to be on the court, how I didn't want to be on the court.”

Gone are the days when a "clay court specialist" was destined to win the French Open. Yes, clay court specialists may have an edge, but more and more tour players have become proficient on more than one surface. And with Swiatek not in her top form at the moment, the upcoming French Open feels less about the Polish star and more about mystery.

This is not to count Swiatek out. Last year, people were ready to count her out in a big way, and her response was to win Wimbledon. Iga Swiatek may be struggling, but she still understands clay, and she still has the mind--and the experience--of a champion. 

In 2022, Swiatek won Rome, then went on to win in Paris. In 2024, she won Madrid, then won another French Open title. But--even though they are both 1000 events--winning Rome and/or Madrid does not appear to make a player any more likely to win at Roland Garros. The Madrid conditions, in particular, are different, because of the altitude.  

Who else, besides the above-named players, has a reasonable chance to win in Paris? If 2021champion Barbora Krejckova were healthy, I'd give her a definite "yes," but she has fallen prey to the Czech injury/illness curse. However, her countrywoman, Karolina Muchova--who is currently enjoying good health--is certainly a candidate, as are defending champion Coco Gauff  and last year's runner-up, Sabalenka.

Venus Williams--wild card or fold?

Venus Williams and Katie Boulter defeat Jiang/Xu 4-6, 6-3, [10-7] to reach the second round in Madrid.

That’s Venus’ first win since the US Open.

Crowd loved it and they were so happy as well. pic.twitter.com/8T1Phj0Sor

— José Morgado (@josemorgado) April 25, 2026

Last week, a maintenance specialist was in my house. I had the television on and was watching Venus Williams playing in Madrid. He passed by, saw the screen, and asked, "Is that an old match?" I told him no, it was Madrid. He watched for a few moments, then said, "She's getting her butt handed to her." I explained to him that gets wild cards now, loses early—almost always in the first round (she won her first round in DC last year)—but keeps playing.

"Good for her!" he said, then went on to talk about how the Williams sisters had been through so much in their careers, and how they had changed professional tennis. 

This, of course, isn't everyone's view. On social media, a lot of people are saying that Williams should stop accepting wild cards so that "deserving" young players  can get them—or that she should enter qualifying rounds.  

But that isn't how it works. By its very nature, a wild card is a gift--you don't have to "deserve" it. Venus Williams is a big fan draw, so it makes sense that a tournament's officials would want her to play. If she continues losing in the first round, will she cease to be a fan draw? I think so, though I'm prepared to be wrong about that.

Several years ago, at a press conference, I began a question to Venus with "When you retire--assuming that you do...." Obviously, I was on to something; even then, I guess I knew that I needed to be careful how I used the "r" word when talking with her. 

Venus Williams will retire some day; everyone does. And while I understand that a lot of people think that the time has come for her to leave the sport (at least, in singles), the idea that she's "tarnishing her legend" is--in my opinion--quite a reach. 

(In fact, we could turn the whole thing around and observe the inner strength that it takes, at 45 years old, with several chronic health conditions, to continually get beaten in first rounds and still go out on the court and give it your best.)

Venus Williams has won seven singles majors, fourteen doubles majors, two mixed doubles majors, and an Olympic gold medal, and she has been ranked number 1 in the world in both singles and doubles. I think that her legend is intact. 

A lot of people tend to want athletes to “retire gracefully,” the way that they want those of us who are older to “age gracefully”—whatever that means. Is Venus Williams—who has now lost ten first-round matches in a row—deluding herself by thinking that she can compete on a reasonable level on the tour? Perhaps. But my expectation is that—if she can still draw a big crowd—tournament officials will probably keep giving her wild cards.

Williams did win a doubles match in Madrid. She and Katie Boulter, playing together for the first time, defeated Jiang Xinyu and Xu Yifan in the first round. They then lost to 7th seeds Hsieh Su-wei and Sofia Kenin in the round of 16. 

Jessica Pegula, 2025 champion, wins Charleston Open again

Jessica Pegula (photo by Daniel Ward)

Though she took on the nickname of Three-Set Jess this week, top seed and defending champion Jessica Pegula put a stop to the long grind when it mattered most; she won the Credit One Charleston Open final in an hour and 22 minutes. Competing against surprise finalist Yuliia Starodubtseva, Pegula saved five of six break points, and her first and second serve win percentages were 76.5 and 52.2. 

Jessica Pegula (photo by Daniel Ward)

The defending champion glided rather easily through the first set, breaking her opponent twice. Up 6-2, 5-0, however, the momentum shifted a bit, as Starodubtseva broke Pegula on her fourth break point. She then held, but Pegula was successful on her second attempt to serve for the championship. 

Despite the 6-2, 6-2 scoreline, the match was entertaining, and included some first-rate shot-making from both players. 

Yuliia Starodubtseva (photo by Daniel Ward)

After the match, Starodubtseva joked, “I really hoped this was her best match this week, because to be the only two-setter in the tournament is not nice.” The runner-up talked about her anxiety before both the final and her semifinal against Madison Keys. She said that she couldn’t sleep because “…my thoughts kind of didn't stop. It was like, you know, loud in my head last three days.” She then acknowledged that this is in issue that she needs to work on, but also, she believes that the more she advances to big matches, the problem is likely to take care of itself. 

For her part, Pegula said that she was very pleased with the level at which she played today. She had a plan and she stuck to it, even when her opponent made changes and picked up her level. “I think I was able to like go right back to what I know I needed to do and not let her kind of lull me into playing her game, and I was able to kind of nip that in the bud, I guess, any time it felt like it was starting to shift.”

Pegula is the first player to repeat her victory in Charleston since Serena Williams did it in 2013. Williams, like Pegula, won back-to-back tournaments. 

This year, the Credit One Charleston Open became the first 500 tournament to award prize money equal to that awarded at ATP tournaments on the same level. Pegula received $354, 355, and Starodubtseva received $218, 225. The total on-site purse was $2.3 million, and the total player compensation was $2.5 million. Starodubtseva said that she will now be able to have her physio travel with her in Europe.

Desirae Krawczyk and Caty McNally (photo by Daniel Ward)

There was also an interesting story in the doubles competition. Desirae Krawczyk’s partner withdrew from the tournament, so she had to scramble to find a partner. Fortunately, Caty McNally was available. But there’s more—their opponents in the final—Anna Bondar and Magdalena Frech—also got together at the last minute. And to make the circumstances even stranger, Bondar and Frech played each other in the singles draw; Bondar won, 7-5, 6-3, in the second round. 

Krawczyk and McNally won the championship match 6-3, 6-2. Krawczyk also won the tournament, with Danielle Collins, in 2023, and McNally won it, with Hailey Baptiste, in 2021.

Magdalena Frech, Anna Bondar, Desirae Krawczyk, Caty McNally
(photo by Daniel Ward)

all photos by Daniel Ward

Yuliia Starodubtseva--the Charleston Open's surprise finalist

player photos by Daniel Ward

The Charleston Open is known for many things, and one of them is the introduction of relatively unknown players to a wide audience. This year, all eyes are on 26-year-old Yuliia Starodubtseva of Ukraine. Starodubtseva was scheduled to play in the qualifying rounds, but because of a withdrawal, she was moved into the main draw. Once there, she took out Zhang Shuai, Ekaterine Gorgodze, Renata Zarazua, McCartney Kessler, and 5th seed and 2019 champion Madison Keys.

Starodubtseva played college tennis at Old Dominion University. When she was 17, she said that she didn't have the money to go professional, and she thought that going to school in the U.S. would be a good idea, especially after "I didn't do super well" in the few tournaments that she played. She had friends on the Old Dominion tennis team, and the school gave her a full scholarship.

After she graduated from Old Dominion, Starodubtseva still didn't have enough money to pursue a professional career, so she became a tennis coach at Westchester Country Club in New York. She coached men and women, and she was also the coach at a children's tennis camp. Sometimes, she said, she worked ten hours a day. Of interest: The Westchester courts on which Starodubtseva coached were green clay.

Starodubtseva met her boyfriend, Pearse Dolan, in college, and--though he wasn't her coach at the beginning of her professional career--he coaches her now.  She has also added Eric Hechtman to her team. Starodubtseva describes herself as thriving on big stages, so today's final will give her a great opportunity.

Jessica Pegula goes three sets again, and advances to the Charleston final

Jessica Pegula (photo by Daniel Ward)

Top seed and defending champion Jessica Pegula, who is now known as Three-Set Jess, did it again today. She defeated rising star and 4th seed Iva Jovic 6-4, 5-7, 6-3 at the Credit One Charleston Open. The match lasted two hours and 35 minutes; she has now spent more than ten hours on the court this week. 

Iva Jovic (photo by Daniel Ward)

 
Pegula told the media: "...I don't think I'm playing my best tennis, either, and I think I've had to kind of find things that are working on the day and kind of find patterns that are working for me that day when the rest of my game isn't there or certain shots aren't there. So I think that's something I've been doing really well this week."

Pegula also addressed her serve, which is good deal faster than it was a year ago. "I'm always working a little bit on placement and getting my serve bigger, but it kind of just happened naturally with all the stuff that we've been working on....

"And I have a pretty live arm. And so I've always thought my serve could be much bigger for my size because with my arm being pretty live for how tall I am. 

"I'm always working a little bit on placement and getting my serve bigger, but it kind of just happened naturally with all the stuff that we've been working on. I haven't really changed much, to be honest, as far as using my legs or my motion. It's really more just, I think, using my hand....And I have a pretty live arm. And so I've always thought my serve could be much bigger for my size, because with my arm being pretty live for all tall I am. So I've always kind of been like, why isn't my serve bigger?"

Yuliia Starodubtseva (photo by Daniel Ward)

In the other semifinal, Yuliia Starodubtseva defeated 2019 champion and 5th seed Madison Keys 6-1, 6-4. Starodubtseva was supposed to have competed in the qualifying rounds, but when Amanda Anisimova withdrew from the tournament, the Ukrainian player was placed into the main draw, and she has certainly made the most of it. Today, she experienced something that is quite typical of a fairly inexperienced player competing against a top seed: She had a chance to serve for the match at 5-3 in the second set, and she was broken. But then she broke Keys at love to get a chance to compete in her first WTA final.

Madison Keys (photo by Daniel Ward)

"I feel like I did a great job breaking her all the first set, and I felt like I could do it again," Starodubtseva said of how she managed the victory after dropping serve.

Pegula and Starodubtseva, who is number 89 in the world, have never played each other. Starodubtseva's aggressive style of play should make for an interesting final. 

The doubles final will feature the team of Desirae Krawczyk and Caty McNally competing against the team of Anna Bondar and Magdalena Frech. 

all photos by Daniel Ward

The Ballad of Three-Set Jess

The Ballad of Three-Set Jess

She came to Charleston from Florida
on a wave of last year’s success.
The others thought they could wear her down,
but they don’t know Three-Set Jess

A feisty trickster tried to send her home
in her stunning turquoise dress.
She lobbed and spun and popped and dropped,
then she lost to Three-Set Jess.

Next, it was an Italian’s turn
to create some clay court stress,
which Italians do throughout the world—
but they can’t beat Three-Set Jess

Then a clever Russian tried 
to make her stumble, fault and guess.
It was quite a show, but in the end,
she folded to Three-Set Jess.

Today, a teen of considerable skill—
and a countrywoman, no less—
took on the job—she won a set,
but was beaten by Three-Set-Jess.

Playing for hours and hours on clay
makes the body and brain a mess.
But if you think it troubles our defending champ,
then you don’t know Three-Set-Jess.

Charleston Open semifinalists ready for Saturday action

clockwise from top left: Jessica Pegula, Iva Jovic, Madison Keys, Yuliia Stardubtseva 
(all photos by Daniel Ward)