31-year-old Jessica Pegula enjoyed a career milestone win on Sunday at the Charleston Open. Pegula defeated defending champion Danielle Collins and an always challenging Ekaterina Alexandrova and Sofia Kenin en route to her career's first clay court title.
With the win, Pegula regained her ranking as the top American. She is now World No. 3 behind Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek.
Pegula made back-to-back finals on different surfaces within a week. Dealing with the changing conditions from the Miami Open hardcourt to Charleston's clay courts and managing the travel and practice demands makes the win even more impressive. No letdown or exhaustion was evident in her game, but the day after the Charleston Open win, she had an eye situation similar to Novak Djokovic's in Miami.
Jessica Pegula has won on all surfaces with multiple coaches
Pegula now has eight WTA titles. Charleston Open was Pegula's first WTA title on clay. In 2024, she won her first career WTA title on grass at the Berlin Open. The other six are on hardcourts.
Jessica Pegula this week in Charleston:
— Bastien Fachan (@BastienFachan) April 6, 2025
QF - Down 6-1 2-0 to Collins, wins in three
SF - Down 4-2 in the third to Alexandrova, wins
F - Down 5-1 in the second to Kenin, wins in straights
Indestructible. pic.twitter.com/hjN9efkFCz
Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek, and Coco Gauff have won clay and hardcourt titles, but none have won on grass.
Pegula has won multiple titles with different coaches. She successfully partnered with David Witt, with whom she won four titles from 2019 through 2023. Pegula has won four titles since 2024 under the guidance of Mark Knowles and Mark Merklein.
Jessica Pegula's future is bright
Madison Keys' 2025 Australian Open maiden Grand Slam win proves it can happen at any age. Pegula is a player who got close last year, losing in the 2024 US Open final to Aryna Sabalenka.
Whether she wins a Grand Slam or not, she is still one of the most successful American women players of her generation. She can play as long as she wants, and opportunities in the game would be available to her after she decides to retire.
Her charasmatic personality makes her a no-brainer to work in television and her in-depth analysis of her matches makes her an ideal coach should she choose to go that route.
Jessica Pegula swiping a sip of Aryna Sabalenka’s margarita on the TC Desk 😂😂😂
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) March 29, 2025
pic.twitter.com/b2yAsNpL6L
In the meantime, Pegula travels the next few weeks with her husband and without her coaches for Billie Jean King Cup qualifiers and Stuttgart. Two titles (Austin and Charleston) and three finals (Miami) in the past month have been a great blessing, but she will need to rest her body amid this busy schedule to get ready for Roland Garros next month, a tournament that she missed last year due to a neck injury.