Another fun week at the Credit One Charleston Open is in the books as Jessica Pegula went back-to-back. As tournaments go, Charleston is pretty near the top of my tennis bucket list. I have a deal with the bro – if he ever manages to get tickets for the Masters then i’ll make him go to Charleston! It seems like such a chilled vibe and the players are always in a good mood. Read on for the highlights from the 2026 edition in Charleston.
Champion 🏆
It was a wild week for Jess Pegula who battled through four consecutive three setters to reach the final. In three of those matches, Pegula came from a set down and in all four, she rallied from a break down in the final set. Of course, it was the final where Pegula finally managed to win in straight sets as she beat the surprise finalist, Yuliia Starodubtseva, 6-2 6-2 in one hour and 22 minutes. Starodubtseva had started well but the errors began to creep in and Pegula ran away with the final from there, playing far and away her best match of the week. Starodubtseva had a late surge at the end of the match as she managed to avoid the second set bagel. Pegula served out the win at the second time of asking.
This is the best form i’ve ever seen from Pegula. This week was more about grit and resilience rather than quality which in a way is more impressive that she managed to come through all those tight matches. Pegula now leads the tour for match wins in 2026 with a 24-4 W-L record – three of those losses were to Rybakina. Pegula is not playing Stuttgart so will get a few weeks of much needed rest before the start of her red clay season in Madrid.
Starodubtseva fell outside of the world’s top 130 in the Autumn when her points for reaching the quarter-finals of Beijing in 2024 dropped off her ranking. Starodubtseva has been steadily climbing back up the rankings and is now up to a new career high of #53. Starodubtseva recently started working with Eric Hectman in Miami so their partnership is off to a good start.
Best Matches 🎾
There were some good matches in Charleston and most of them involved Pegula. Here’s my top three…
Pegula d. Putintseva, 4-6 6-4 7-5 (R2): As Pegula said in her post-match interview, welcome to clay court season. Three hours plus and it was my favourite match of the week as Pegula overcame Putintseva’s treasure chest of antics and shotmaking. Both players finished with more winners than errors which was impressive considering the length of some of the rallies.
Pegula d. Shnaider, 3-6 6-3 6-2 (QF): Some really fun rallies and high quality for the final two sets. Shnaider had a crazy match point save but generally fell away at the end as a rampant Pegula started going for her shots and won the last six games of the match.
Keys d. Bencic, 4-6 6-3 6-2 (QF): When Keys is on, she’s one of my favourite players to watch. The last two sets were goood and the match point passing shot winner was a beaut.
Biggest upset 😱
Madison Keys said in press that she might prefer clay to grass 😯😯😯.
Funniest moment 😂
The world number 744 😂.
Handshakes & Hugs Sportswomanship moment 🤗
A hug from Yulia!
Favourite Read 📖
I enjoyed this post by Diane Elayne Dees from Monday’s media day in Charleston.
Favourite Interview 📺
There were some cracking stories in this Tennis Channel interview with Madison Keys. Also, Ali Riske! She was great on the Tennis Channel desk and hope to see her doing media at future events.
Favourite press conferences 🎤
Yuliia Starodubtseva was a revelation in press this week – very open, down-to-earth and chill. After her quarter-final win over McCartney Kessler, Starodubtseva told the press about her story and confirmed that she coached on green clay for a year. Her final press conference was one of the best you’ll see for a finalist.
Favourite snap 📸
A nice shot of Madison.
Five thoughts 🤔
Jen Brady just needs matches. Brady lost in straight sets to Viktoriya Tomova in the first round, 4-6 3-6, but all the shots were there. Just being back on court and fit and healthy is a win after two years away from the tour.
The first round match between Polina Kudermetova and Oleksandra Oliynykova was a wild ride. I was surprised that Kudermetova won in the end (3-6 7-6(1) 6-4 in two hours and 22 minutes) and managed to handle Oliynykova’s funky shotmaking.
It was nice to see McCartney Kessler finding some form after a slow and injury-affected start to 2026. Kessler took out Tjen and Stearns en route to the quarter-finals.
Madison Keys‘s comeback win over Bencic in the quarter-finals was her best match of the year. A shame that she wasn’t able to back this up in the semis but overall a very positive week.
Iva Jovic had her best week since Australia. I think she’ll be knocking on the door of the world’s top 10 before the 2026 season is up.