Top-ranked Jessica Pegula secured her place in the Credit One Charleston Open final on Saturday. She overcame No. 9 seed Ekaterina Alexandrova in a challenging three-set match, winning 6-2, 2-6, 7-5.
Pegula, currently ranked No. 4 globally, had previously reached the Charleston semifinals for the past two years. This year, she progressed further at the WTA 500 event on green clay. Despite a tough match lasting 2 hours and 20 minutes against the 26th-ranked Alexandrova, Pegula demonstrated resilience, especially after twice trailing in the third set. This victory evens their head-to-head record at 2-2.
In the final, Pegula will face fellow American Sofia Kenin. Kenin, the 2020 Australian Open champion, advanced to the final after Amanda Anisimova, seeded No. 8 and also American, withdrew from their semifinal due to a right hip injury. Kenin was leading 5-2 in the first set when Anisimova stopped playing.
Pegula holds a 3-2 lead in head-to-head encounters with Kenin. Their most recent match was at last year`s US Open, where Pegula defeated Kenin in the second round during her journey to her first Grand Slam singles final.
This marks the first all-American final in Charleston since 1990, when Martina Navratilova defeated Jennifer Capriati.
Jessica Pegula is now the WTA tour leader in match wins for 2025. Her victory over Alexandrova was her 24th main-draw win of the year, surpassing Aryna Sabalenka, who has 23 wins.
Pegula started strongly in her semifinal, maintaining error-free play for the first 20 minutes. By taking a 5-0 lead in the first set, she extended her winning streak to 14 games, which began in the second set of her quarterfinal match against Danielle Collins.
However, the second set saw a shift as Alexandrova`s powerful play intensified. Alexandrova hit 14 winners compared to Pegula`s two in that set, leveling the match.
The deciding third set was closely contested. Pegula twice recovered from a break down. At 5-5, a well-placed backhand from Pegula forced an error from Alexandrova, giving Pegula the chance to serve for the match. In the following game, another backhand winner down the line secured Pegula`s victory on her second match point.
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Dominic Ashworth