Defending champion Pegula will return to Charleston in 2026

2m read 23 Oct 2025 18h ago

Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images

Summary

World No. 5 Jessica Pegula will return to Charleston next year for the Credit One Charleston Open, where she's the defending champion. It will be the American's 12th appearance at the clay-court tournament. Madison Keys will also be in the draw.

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Jessica Pegula is known for playing one of the most rigorous schedules on the Hologic WTA Tour, and she's already plotting her calendar for 2026.

One stop where she'll be returning is Charleston, the site of the WTA 500 Credit One Charleston Open.

The World No. 5 is the defending champion in Charleston, and next year will be her 12th appearance at the clay-court tournament, dating back to 2011. (Her first main-draw appearance came in 2013, after coming through qualifying. She holds a 21-10 career record at the event (including qualifying) and was a back-to-back semifinalist in 2023 and 2024 before winning the title earlier this year.

"Coming back to Charleston for the Credit One Charleston Open means a lot to me," the 31-year-old said. "I’ve always loved playing there -- the city, the fans, the energy -- it just makes the experience so positive for us players. After being a semifinalist in both 2023 and 2024, finally breaking through and winning the title in 2025 was such a special career moment.

"The crowd support that week made it even more unforgettable, and I’m really excited to be back and compete in front of these amazing fans again at a tournament I love."

After receiving a first-round bye in the 2025 draw, the former US Open finalist defeated Iryna Shymanovich, Ajla Tomljanovic, and countrywoman Danielle Collins to reach the semifinals. She then eked out a 6-2, 2-6, 7-5 win over Ekaterina Alexandrova before beating Sofia Kenin 6-3, 7-5 in the final.

Pegula, who also won the ATX Open in Austin earlier in the year, added a grass-court title in Bad Homburg in June and made a run to the US Open semifinals. She followed that up with a strong Asian swing in Beijing and Wuhan and has qualified for her fourth career WTA Finals, which will be contested in Riyadh beginning Nov. 1.

The tournament also announced that World No. 8 Madison Keys will return to Charleston next year. The reigning Australian Open champion will play this tournament for the 13th time in her career. She reached the final in 2015, losing to Angelique Kerber, and won it in 2019 after beating Caroline Wozniacki in the final.