No. 1 seed Jessica Pegula battled into her first Credit One Charleston Open final on Saturday, twice coming back from a break down in the third set to pull off a 6-2, 2-6, 7-5 semifinal victory over No. 9 seed Ekaterina Alexandrova.
Charleston: Draws | Scores | Order of play
World No. 4 Pegula had been halted in the Charleston semifinals in each of the last two years, but she went one better this time at the WTA 500 green-clay event. However, she had to use all of her mettle to come from behind on a gusty day, outlasting 26th-ranked Alexandrova in 2 hours and 20 minutes and levelling their head-to-head at 2-2.
“It’s been the same kind of storyline in the past when I’ve played her,” Pegula said, after her win. “Played a 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 will now face her fellow American Sofia Kenin in Saturday’s final. The 2020 Australian Open champion Kenin advanced when another American, No. 8 seed Amanda Anisimova, retired from their semifinal due to a right hip injury. Kenin was leading 5-2 in the first set when Anisimova stopped play.
“I’m feeling very good with the level I’ve played throughout the week,” Kenin said. “It’s unfortunate that Amanda had to retire, I wish her a speedy recovery. She’s had a great year and I just wish her the best.”
Pegula leads Kenin 3-2 in their head-to-head. Pegula won their most recent meeting, when she beat former World No. 4 Kenin in the second round of last year’s US Open en route to her first Grand Slam singles final.
This is the first all-American final at Charleston since Martina Navratilova beat Jennifer Capriati in the 1990 final.
New tour win leader: The Hologic WTA Tour match-win leader position has changed hands numerous times in 2025, and Pegula now takes her turn at the top. Pegula’s win over Alexandrova was her 24th WTA main-draw victory of the year, putting her one ahead of Aryna Sabalenka’s 23.
Pegula was dominant early on Saturday, where she went 20 minutes without hitting an unforced error. By reaching 5-0 in the first set, she was on a 14-game winning streak that began in the second set of her quarterfinal win over defending champion Danielle Collins.
The second set, however, was a very different story, as Alexandrova’s power game kicked into gear. Alexandrova had 14 winners to Pegula’s two in that set, and the ninth seed tied up the match at one set apiece.
In the topsy-turvy third set, Pegula fought back from a break down on two separate occasions. At 5-5, Pegula placed a backhand in the corner to force an error from Alexandrova, earning a chance to serve for the match. In the next game, Pegula fired another backhand, this time down the line, to convert her second match point.
“[Alexandrova is] a really good player,” Pegula said. “There’s a reason she beats a lot of top players … Her game is tough to play against, the way she strikes the ball, she’s serving well, returning well.”
