Jessica Pegula landed her first Charleston Open title in quite some style as the American tennis star saved multiple set points and won the last six games of the second set to complete a 6-3 7-5 win over world No. 44 Sofia Kenin.
In an all-American final, top-seeded Pegula created 17 break points and converted seven of those opportunities en route to landing her eighth WTA title. Also, this is the first clay title for the 31-year-old.
On the other side, Kenin was hoping to claim her first WTA title in five years. Unfortunately for the former world No. 4, it didn’t happen and she definitely has something to regret since she missed out on a major chance to at least force a third set.
Worth the wait 👏@JPegula saves 3 set points to notch her first title in the Lowcountry, defeating compatriot Kenin 6-3, 7-5 in the final!#CharlestonOpen pic.twitter.com/bkRUBEKKEB
— Credit One Charleston Open (@CharlestonOpen) April 6, 2025
How Pegula overcame Kenin in the Charleston final?
At the start of the final, Pegula blew an early break and trailed 2-3 through the opening five games of the match. Blowing an early break certainly wasn’t ideal but the top seed remained calm and responded with back-to-back breaks to win the next four games and seal the first set.
Down by a set, Kenin raised her level and bounced back by opening what seemed like a very comfortable 5-1 second set. Then, the trouble started for the 2020 Australian Open champion. In the seventh game, the world No. 44 missed out on three set points and then she also twice failed to serve out for the second set as Pegula finished the final on a six-game winning run.
It was the sixth meeting between the two Americans and the world No. 4 now leads their head-to-head 4-2.
Tennis World USA