Pegula Wins Maiden Clay Title In Charleston And Dethrones Gauff As American No. 1

Jessica Pegula has won a title on a surface on which she has never triumphed before. She beat everyone who stood in her way to win the 2025 Charleston Open.

Before competing in the final of the WTA 500 event in Charleston, Pegula has lifted seven titles in her career. Six of those came on the hard courts and one on a grass court. In Charleston, she had a chance to win her maiden clay-court title.

But she faced a very challenging opponent. Sofia Kenin stood in two Grand Slam finals in her tennis career, one of which was a French Open final. She knows how to win big matches, even though her semi-final win was through a retirement.

Both players enjoyed a great week, but only one could leave Charleston with the biggest trophy on offer. Early in the match, Pegula did everything to make sure she would be the happier player after the final.

The WTA World No. 4 player started perfectly, breaking Kenin's serve and leading 2-0 early on. Pegula then had two break points to lead 3-0, but she couldn't use those.

Kenin used that momentum shift to her advantage, breaking back and then saving three consecutive break points to lead for the first time in the match 3-2. But even though it seemed like it was game on, it was actually game over.

Pegula won four games in a row to stop Kenin's run. The 31-year-old won the first set of the match 6-3, once again completely shifting the momentum of this match.

But it seemed that Kenin was determined to send this match into the decider. She was the overwhelmingly better player in the second set, building a 5-1 lead and even having three set points.

Yet, that wasn't enough for Kenin to win the second set of this match. Pegula miraculously won six games in a row to win this final mach 6-3, 7-5, claiming her first clay-court title.

This win also means that she will be the American No. 1 player once again on Monday. Pegula will overtake Coco Gauff by 38 points, improving to the World No. 3 position.

Both Pegula and Kenin will want to use this tournament as a springboard for the clay-court part of the season. They have now both proven that they can do well on the surface.