World No. 5 Jessica Pegula successfully defended her Charleston Open title Sunday, defeating first-time finalist Yuliia Starodubtseva 6-2, 6-2 in a dominant performance that capped a grueling week.
Pegula became the tournament's first repeat champion since Serena Williams accomplished the feat in 2013. She battled through four consecutive three-set matches before coasting through Sunday's final in one hour and 22 minutes.
"Thank you to the fans who've supported me throughout this whole week," Pegula said during the tournament's trophy presentation. "There were many three-set matches. It's been such a long week for me, and you guys brought me through so many matches every single day. I love playing here."
The victory hands Pegula her second title of 2026 following her WTA 1000 triumph in Dubai in February. She captured the 11th singles title of her career while spending more than 11 hours on court during the week. She now leads the WTA Tour with 24 wins this season.
Her Charleston journey began with a three-hour, 10-minute grind against Yulia Putintseva before surviving tough three-setters against Elisabetta Cocciaretto, Diana Shnaider, and Iva Jovic to reach the final.
The 33-year-old US star saved her sharpest tennis for the championship match. She rattled off five straight games to claim the opening set, extending her run to 10 consecutive games before Starodubtseva finally broke serve while trailing 5-0 in the second set.
Pegula hit three aces and won nearly 77% of her first-serve points while facing just two break points all afternoon.
The 26-year-old Ukrainian now jumps from No. 89 to a career-high No. 53 after reaching her first WTA final. Pegula remains at No. 5.
Up Next for Jessica Pegula After the Charleston Open
Tennis now shifts to Europe as the Madrid Open kicks off April 21st, with Pegula expected to join the clay-court tournament's star-studded field.
World No. 18 Madison Keys moved into the third round of the 2026 Charleston Open on Wednesday, cruising past Donna Vekić 6-2, 6-3 in straight sets.
The 2019 tournament champion needed just one hour and 15 minutes to close out the match. She controlled play early, never giving up momentum.
Keys said her fast start made all the difference.
"Pretty happy overall, I think," Keys said postgame. "Getting off to a really good start with a couple of breaks, and I think I served really well."
And, she added, there was little to review after the performance.
"Overall, not a whole lot of things to be upset about today," Keys said.
The US tennis star entered the tournament as one of several big-name contenders in a deep field. That included top seed Jessica Pegula, who advanced with a 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 win over Yulia Putintseva. 2022 champion Belinda Bencic is also through, after pulling off a 6-2, 6-7 (5-7), 6-3 victory over Dayana Yastremska.
Keys will next face Anna Bondar in the third round, with the match scheduled for 2 PM ET on Thursday.
A win would push Keys into the quarterfinal conversation as the 2026 Charleston Open continues to take shape heading into the weekend.
How to Watch Madison Keys at the 2026 Charleston Open
Charleston Open coverage continues through April 5th, with matches airing on live on The Tennis Channel.
The 2026 Credit One Charleston Open gets underway this week, marking the start of the tennis world's clay-court season.
The WTA 500 event runs from March 30th through April 5th. It features a 48-player singles draw on green clay, the only surface of its kind on tour. This year’s tournament additionally carries a $2.5 million prize pool, part of a push for pay equity at the 500 level.
"Women’s tennis is delivering at a very high level right now," said Charleston Open owner Ben Navarro. "Offering equal prize money is about respecting the players and the work they put in, and aligning the tournament with the value of the game.”
World No. 5 Jessica Pegula opens her campaign Tuesday, after the defending champion subsequently became the 10th US player to win the tournament in 2025.
"I'm glad that I've been able to be a part of this era of all these girls doing really well in the States," the 32-year-old said. "It's definitely motivated me to see them do well. It's an honor to be a part of this amazing group."
2022 champion Belinda Bencic and 2019 champion Madison Keys also headline the tournament's main draw.
This week's winner will earn 500 ranking points, as Pegula looks to build momentum ahead of next month's French Open.
How to Watch the 2026 Charleston Open Tennis Tournament
The Charleston Open continues through April 5th, with matches airing on live on The Tennis Channel.
The world No. 1 has done it again, as Aryna Sabalenka took down No. 3 Coco Gauff 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 to win her second straight Miami Open title on Saturday — and complete her first-ever Sunshine Double championship.
"You're a fighter, and you also push me so hard to be a better player," Sabalenka told Gauff after the win, gaining a narrow 7-6 head-to-head career record advantage over the US star. "I like our rivalry."
Along with the 2026 Indian Wells Open trophy she booked earlier this month, her Saturday win makes Sabalenka just the fifth women's tennis player to complete the annual US spring hardcourt tournament sweep, joining retired stars Steffi Graf (1994, 1996) and Kim Clijsters (2005) as well as current No. 204 Victoria Azarenka (2016) and No. 4 Iga Świątek (2022) in accomplishing the feat.
The top-ranked competitor is also on track to make even more tennis history: Should Sabalenka return from the upcoming clay season to win the 2026 Cincinnati Open, she will become the first WTA star to ever hold all four US-based major titles — the US Open plus the three WTA 1000 tournaments — at the same time.
As for chasing history, however, the 27-year-old is taking it one tournament and one match at a time.
"I'm just trying to go as far as possible in this sport and to inspire next generation," Sabalenka said.
How to watch Sabalenka, other top WTA stars
Though Sabalenka's next confirmed competition will be alongside the rest of tennis' Top 20 at the 2026 Madrid Open beginning on April 21st, the WTA officially kicked off its clay season at the Charleston Open on Monday.
Seeded stars, including US standouts No. 5 Jessica Pegula, No. 16 Iva Jovic, and No. 18 Madison Keys, will take the court in South Carolina beginning with Tuesday's Round of 32.
Coverage of the 2026 Charleston Open airs live on the Tennis Channel.
US tennis star Jessica Pegula defeated Sofia Kenin 6-3, 7-5 at the Charleston Open on Sunday, winning her first clay court title in the tournament’s first all-US final since 1990.
The victory marks Pegula’s second of the season, with the 2025 Miami Open finalist overtaking fellow US star Coco Gauff in the No. 3 spot in the newly updated WTA rankings — matching her career high.
"I was playing a lot of matches over the previous couple years, and I was just burnt out," Pegula told reporters afterwards. "So I'm just really happy that this year I feel so much fresher, so much better, and I think the results are kind of showing this early in the year."
Equal pay heads for Charleston Open
Charleston organizers also announced on Sunday that the Open will provide equal prize money to both the men’s and women’s pools starting with next year's edition, becoming the first standalone WTA 500 event to level the financial playing field — and doubling the winner’s approximately $1,000,000 purse in the process.
The move follows a 2023 WTA announcement outlining a pathway to equal pay, with the goal of achieving purse equity across combined WTA 1000 and 500 events by 2027 and single-week WTA 1000 and 500 events by 2033.
"People often assume there's equal prize money across the board, but it's really only at the Slams, and maybe one or two of the 1000-level tournaments," Pegula explained. "So just starting that trend toward better equity is huge for us. It's amazing."
Belinda Bencic cruised to her first clay court final Saturday, taking down Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-4, 6-3. She’ll face off against Ons Jabeur, who mounted a comeback against Amanda Anisimova in her own semifinal.
The defending Olympic gold medalist and world No. 21, Bencic will be playing in her 14th WTA Tour singles final.
A first clay-court WTA final coming up for Belinda! 🧱
— wta (@WTA) April 9, 2022
🇨🇭 @BelindaBencic defeats Alexandrova to set up a showdown with Jabeur or Anisimova for the Charleston title.#CharlestonOpen pic.twitter.com/GaN9inSFaN
Alexandrova didn’t go down without a fight, pulling back from being down 4-1 to 4-4 in the first set. But Bencic won three-fourths of her first service points while also winning on 68 percent of Alexandrova’s second service points.
Bencic managed five aces and won 71 percent of her first service points.
In the other semifinal, Anisimova took a commanding lead in the first set before Jabeur fought back in the second and third sets, winning 2-6, 6-1, 6-4.
The world No. 10 had to stage multiple comebacks to secure the win over 47th-ranked Anisimova. Sunday will be Jabeur’s first WTA final of the year and just her second overall.
Both will be seeking their first clay court singles title. Bencic took the only match the two have taken, winning via retirement in the round of 16 at Madrid last season.