Jessica Pegula explains what surprised her about Charleston title defence

Jessica Pegula clinched the title in Charleston, defeating Yuliia Starodubtseva in straight sets to cap off a demanding week.

It was a straightforward finish to what had otherwise been a challenging week for the 32-year-old, who had been pushed to three sets in each of her matches leading up to the final.

Afterwards, Pegula spoke candidly on Tennis Channel about the mental and physical challenges she faced throughout the week. She reflected on what it took to reclaim her crown in Charleston and defend her title.

Jessica Pegula shares her thoughts after back-to-back titles in Charleston

Asked about how it felt to go back-to-back in Charleston, Pegula said: “Yeah, I don’t know. It’s crazy.”

“It was definitely a tough path last year and this year, and I think sometimes when you win a tournament, you kind of like romanticise, like, oh, it was so easy, and it’s usually not. Like there are usually some days where it’s really hard.

“And so I think I shifted my mindset a little bit coming back defending. I was like listen last year was a really tough year. It wasn’t like everything went perfect. So I think that actually kind of helped me get through a lot of really tough matches this week.”

Smiling when asked about the length of her matches this week at the event she replied:

“I just like to make things hard for myself,” Pegula said with a laugh.

Pegula added: “Like, I really do think I’d rather have it this way going into clay season for sure because you’re gonna have matches like this. Like it’s impossible not to especially on clay.

“So I think it’s honestly great for my clay court season hopefully as long as I can kind of you know stay healthy and keep adjusting and keeping that that mindset that on clay can be a little tricky and it gets tough.”

Jessica Pegula’s impressive start to 2026 puts her behind only Aryna Sabalenka in titles

It speaks volumes about Pegula’s strong opening to the 2026 season that she trails only world number one Aryna Sabalenka in total titles won so far.

The Belarusian began her year with a win in Brisbane before finishing as runner-up at the Australian Open. She then completed the Sunshine Double, picking up a third trophy of the season in Miami.

Pegula had a solid start as well, making the semi-finals in both Brisbane and Melbourne before going on to win in Dubai. She then reached two quarter-finals at Indian Wells and Miami, and later added another title with her victory in Charleston.

As both players head into the clay-court portion of the season, it will be interesting to see how Pegula matches up against Sabalenka once that stretch is over.

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