Jessica Pegula captured her first career clay-court title on Sunday by defeating fellow American Sofia Kenin 6-3, 7-5 in the final of the Charleston Open. The victory marks Pegula’s eighth WTA singles title and her second of the 2025 season, following her win in Austin in March.
The 31-year-old mounted an impressive comeback in the second set, saving three set points and rallying from 1-5 down to secure a straight-sets win.
“Congrats to Sonya [Kenin] on an amazing week—you’ve been playing great tennis,” Pegula said during the trophy presentation. “You’re always a tough opponent, and I’m sure I’ll be seeing you again very soon. Thanks to my team for all the support—it’s been a great week.”
With this win, Pegula will return to her career-high ranking of world No. 3 on Monday, overtaking Coco Gauff as the top-ranked American woman. Pegula now holds 6,101 ranking points—just 38 more than Gauff, who drops to No. 4.
After falling short in the Miami Open final to Aryna Sabalenka last weekend, Pegula responded in style in Charleston. She now enters the clay-court season with momentum and, crucially, no points to defend after missing much of last year’s clay swing due to injury.
This gives Pegula a prime opportunity to further strengthen her ranking in upcoming WTA 1000 events in Madrid and Rome ahead of the French Open. In contrast, Gauff must defend semi-final points at both Rome and Roland Garros, in addition to results from Stuttgart and Madrid.
Looking further ahead, Pegula may even challenge world No. 2 Iga Swiatek, who has a slender five-point lead over her in the WTA Race to Riyadh. Swiatek is under mounting pressure as she defends 4,000 points across Madrid, Rome, and the French Open.
Currently, Swiatek holds 7,470 WTA ranking points—1,369 ahead of Pegula—but Pegula’s clean slate during the clay swing could allow her to close that gap quickly.
Both Pegula and Swiatek are expected to return at the WTA 500 event in Stuttgart, along with world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff.
As for Kenin, the former Australian Open champion’s impressive run to her 10th WTA final will lift her back into the world’s top 40. She is set to rise 10 spots to No. 34, putting her in contention for a seeded position at Roland Garros.
