What’s Next for a Two-Time Charleston Open Champ?
Jessica Pegula has made history by successfully defending her title at the 2025 Charleston Open, defeating Yulia Starodubtseva in a decisive straight-set victory, the only one she achieved during the tournament. This win places Pegula among the exclusive ranks of repeat champions, a feat last accomplished in 2013 by fellow American and former top-ranked player Serena Williams. The first set lasted 31 minutes. What could be next now that the fifth-ranked women have started the year off so strongly?
Where She Stands Now
Winning Charleston marks the second title for the American, bolstering and securing her ranking in the top five. Along with her first 2026 title, the WTA 1000 Dubai Open, Pegula made a mark for the year on two separate surfaces, hardcourt and clay, and brings her career titles to 11. On the way towards her Charleston win, she won four consecutive three-set battles and holds a positive win-loss record of 19 to four. Yet, the clay season has begun, and despite her back-to-back Charleston success, Pegula’s record on regular red clay leaves much to be desired. Last year, she posted early-round exits in some of the major European clay tournaments, losing in the Round of 32 at both the WTA 1000 events, the Mutua Madrid Open and the Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome. In the French Major Roland Garros, she also bowed out in the fourth round.
So while she fares well on Har-Tru, her red clay game is something to be improved, and fast. Losing to a consistent threat like Ekaterina Alexandrova is painful, but understandable; losing to lower-ranked players who aren’t even seeded, not so much. Pegula has a chance to remedy it, with Madrid coming up in two weeks, as it seems she’ll be skipping the next big clay event, the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix held in Stuttgart. Perhaps she means to put in some training hours on red clay, but it’s a bit risky skipping the smaller tournaments to debut in Madrid. The American will certainly be fresh and rested going down this path, but it will be in the air if it’s enough.
2026 Goals and Obstructions
With the focus on the clay season, she’ll have to battle more than just early clay losses. For all of Pegula’s excellence in the past five years, gaining titles, qualifying, and reaching far in the WTA Finals Riyadh, she still has no Grand Slams to date. While she’s been a favorite for a major for the past few years, she struggles to defeat the top-ranked players, regardless of the surface. Madison Keys, her friend and fellow American, managed to snag the 2025 Australian Open Championship in a dreamlike run, defeating top-ranked multi-slam champion Aryna Sabalenka, who to date is the third woman in the Open Era to make four consecutive Australian Open Finals.
Pegula hasn’t been able to manage it, even though she’s done well to reach the semis of this year’s Australian Open, her best showing to date. In the other Slams, the American made it to the quarters of the 2022 Roland Garros, the 2023 Wimbledon, and the finals of the 2024 U.S. Open. Undoubtedly, Roland Garros is where her sights are set nearest, and if she’s focused and fortunate, her biggest challenge remains defeating the players ranked above her, rather than upsets from those below her. As it stands, she leads the head-to-head against the French Open’s defending champion, Coco Gauff, 5-3. Pegula’s record against the 2025 French Open finalist Sabalenka stands at 9-3. Iga Swiatek, who won the Slam in 2020, 2022, 2023, and 2024, also leads their head-to-head 6-5. Elena Rybakina, the 2022 Wimbledon Champion and the 2026 Australian Open Champion, leads Pegula 6-3.
Pegula seems to have Gauff figured out, steadily defeating her as of their last meet at the WTA Finals in a battle between the Americans. As for the others, the record is clear, and the work set out for her as she heads to Europe. Pegula in good form for a Slam, with her momentum and results as of late. With no titles or points to defend in the red clay events, her very next goal should not only be gunning for a title, but defeating those she has not been able to before. If Pegula does, it propels the fifth-ranked American into a stronger spot for the French Open; both by the numbers and for her own confidence.
