Advantage Pegula or Kenin? Making the case for Charleston’s finalists

Perseverance is the theme underlining Sunday’s final at the Credit One Charleston Open.

No. 1 seed Jessica Pegula lost in the semifinals here the past two years, falling to Belinda Bencic and Daria Kasatkina. But now, in her eighth appearance at this WTA 500 event, she’s into her first final. It required every ounce of her ability to defeat Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-2, 2-6, 7-5 in a brawling, banging two-hour-plus match that featured 13 breaks of serve. Pegula saved 15 of the 21 break points against her.

“I’ve always felt like I’ve played good tennis here and had good results,” Pegula said later. “But I told myself in Miami I really want to go for the title this year. And I think I can do it.”

Determination. Diligence. Tenacity.

Sofia Kenin won the 2020 Australian Open, rose to No. 4 in the PIF WTA Rankings and months later reached the final at Roland Garros -- and hasn’t been close in any of the Grand Slams since. Ranked No. 235 at the end of 2022, Kenin has steadily pulled it together. 

On Saturday, she advanced when a clearly compromised Amanda Anisimova retired after seven games with a hip injury. A win over Pegula would bring her first title in five years and thrust her back into the Top 25.

It’s an All-American final in Charleston for the first time since Martina Navratilova beat Jennifer Capriati in 1990. 

“It’s great that one of us is going to hold the trophy -- and I hope I’ll be the one,” Kenin said.

We make the case for both finalists.

Advantage, Pegula

Professional tennis is an unending series of adjustments -- to opponents, conditions, traveling the world -- but consider this smooth piece of transition work by Pegula over the past week.

Last Saturday she faced World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the Miami Open final on the hard, swift surface inside Hard Rock Stadium. And while she lost in straight sets, Pegula didn’t have time to wallow in her grief. While Sabalenka was looking forward to a few weeks off chilling at her Miami home, Pegula was the No. 1 seed at the Credit One Charleston Open, where qualifying was already underway.

On Wednesday, after only a few days of hitting on the slower green clay, Pegula jumped into the tournament with a second-round win over qualifier Iryna Shymanovich. She dropped only three games and looked like she’d been on the slippery stuff for weeks.

And now, she’s playing her second final in eight days -- her third of this young season.

Pegula has won 24 matches in 2025, more than any other Hologic WTA Tour player. The victory over Alexandrova was her eighth straight in a semifinal. The big challenge will be to take the next step. Getting over her semifinal hump in Charleston just might be the thing that frees her to do it.

Pegula holds a tenuous 3-2 edge over Kenin in previous matches. She beat her at last year’s US Open on the way to the final, but Kenin won four years ago on the red clay at Roland Garros.

According to Pegula, Alexandrova and Kenin have similar games.

“They definitely like to take the ball early, change lines,” Pegula said. “Really good backhands, really good returners. Yeah, it’s going to be tough again, I think very similar to today. I’m going to have to dig deep. Hopefully take some of the things I learned today and use that tomorrow.”

How’s this for incentive? A win on Sunday will vault Pegula to No. 3 in the PIF WTA Rankings, ahead of fellow American and sometimes doubles partner Coco Gauff. That would match a career high and send her into the European clay-court season with a massive dose of confidence.

Advantage, Kenin

She was the only unseeded player in the quarterfinals and she’s playing with house money. Pegula, as the top seed, will be feeling the pressure of expectation.

Kenin had made six appearances in Charleston -- and came away with only two victories. Ranked at No. 44, she matched that in a hurry, beating both Bernarda Pera and Bencic in straight sets. Then Kenin upset No. 5 seed and last year’s finalist Kasatkina 6-3, 7-6(7). That thrilling tiebreak might have been the catalyst. She advanced to the semifinals with a straight-sets win over No. 14 Anna Kalinskaya.

The last time Kenin won four straight matches? Last fall in Tokyo when she got to the final, beating Kasatkina on the way.

Don’t discount that win over Pegula at Roland Garros. Kenin came back to win a third-round match 4-6, 6-1, 6-4. Her game of angles works nicely on clay and Pegula’s flat shots are more effective on hard courts.

“Jess is a machine,” Kenin said. “She can play literally week in, week out. I really look up to her. I think what she’s doing is great. I hope tomorrow she can be a little bit off so I can win.

“I’m expecting a battle. I’m expecting her to come out fully recovered, 100 percent.”

Kenin has traveled a long, long way in a startling short period of time. Back in February, she was ranked No. 75 and was forced to qualify for the WTA 500 event in Abu Dhabi. She promptly lost in the first round.

Now she’s on the cusp of some significant personal history.

“The way I’m playing, my mentality has changed,” Kenin said. “I’m not looking up to Jess in terms of, `Oh, my God, can I win a few games?’ I’m going there with the attitude of winning the match.”