Dire straits are tenacity tests on the tennis court.
A driven Jessica Pegula continues acing every exam.
Facing a 1-5 second-set deficit, Pegula stormed through six straight games subduing Sofia Kenin 6-3, 7-5 in the Credit One Charleston Open final to capture her first career clay-court championship.
It is Pegula’s 17th win in her last 19 matches.
Playing her third final in her last four tournaments, Pegula raised her 2025 record to a WTA-best 25-6 record.
“I actually just told [my coach] I think I hit a wall,” Pegula told Tennis Channel’s Steve Weissman afterward. “I just realized how tired I was. She started to play a high level. It was super windy, super tough conditions… I felt if you stopped moving your feet for a split second [momentum] changes so fast…
“I knew I could break her, but I didn’t know I could break her twice. Luckily I played some good tennis, but I was really tired. I was just thinking like I gotta fight through this again. The tank was kind of empty but it almost helped me to focus. I told myself I’m really tired and it almost helped me to relax and I started to play a little bit better and serve a little bit better.”
This victory vaults Pegula past buddy Coco Gauff to the world No. 3 ranking as she again reigns as American No. 1.
The top-seeded Pegula played comeback queen to win her first dirt title and she did it just weeks after bowing to No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the Miami Open final.
Yesterday, a fierce Pegula won five of the final six games fighting off Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-2, 2-6, 7-5 to advance to her maiden Credit One Charleston Open final.
Today, Kenin was cracking her backhand with command building that 5-1 second set lead.
Twice the 2020 Australian Open champion served for the second set and twice Pegula broke her.
The top seed made a fantastic stand saving three set points at 2-5—including pounding two aces wide on two of those three set points—as that stand seemed to rattle Kenin.
In the end, Pegula powered through 10 points in a row to collect her eighth career title, including second of this season.
This first all-American Charleston final since Martina Navratilova beat the young Jennifer Capriati in the 1990 final that was a clash of future Hall of Famers.
It’s a gut-wrenching loss for Kenin, who played tremendous tennis defeating gold-medal champion Belinda Bencic, 2024 finalist Daria Kasatkina, Anna Kalinskaya and Doha champion Amanda Anisimova. Kenin put herself in position to play a final set today, but after Pegula saved those three set points, she emotionally crumbled a bit and lost the range on her serve.
“I want to congratulate Jesse on a great match. You’re a freaking beast coming from Miami to here. Congratulations, it was a great match and a well-deserved win. We’re just gonna have to regroup and get ready for the clay swing.”