It’s Pegula vs. Kenin in All-American Charleston Final

NO. 1 SEED COULD BECOME TOP-RANKED U.S. PLAYER

[1] Jessica Pegula (USA) vs. Sofia Kenin (USA)
Credit One Stadium, not before 2:30 p.m.

It’s not easy to fly under the radar when you’re a Grand Slam champion. But, in many ways, that’s been the case for Sofia Kenin, who burst onto the scene in 2020 when, as a fresh-faced, 21-year-old newcomer, she won the Australian Open and climbed as high as No. 4 in the PIF WTA Rankings.

With a title-and-ranking stall in recent years, the Moscow-born American’s name doesn’t always jump off the draw sheet when it comes to picking favorites. But Jessica Pegula, her opponent in Sunday’s 2025 Credit One Charleston Open title match, says her WTA colleagues have never lost sight of all that Kenin is capable of on a tennis court.

“She won a Grand Slam and hasn’t really quite had the results that she’s probably wanted since then,” observed Pegula, who after three straight trips to the semifinals on the green clay of Daniel Island is finally through to the final. “But she still pops in and beats good people and can always be really tough with her game. It’s uncomfortable to play against.”

Sofia Kenin.

“She doesn’t really give you a lot emotionally,” added Pegula, 31. “She kind of just walks side to side, stays in her own little bubble, does her thing whether she’s winning or losing. That can be hard to gauge when you’re playing her.”

“I try to do my best in terms of mentally not being too high in my emotions,” Kenin concurred. “Of course, sometimes you get some negative ones, which is normal, but I am trying to balance it out. If I’m walking the way I’m walking, that means it’s good because I’m on a roll, and I’m pretty fast. When I look at the clock, it’s like two seconds and I’m already ready to return her serve, and the girls are looking at me like, ‘How is she ready?’ That’s a good problem to have.”

They have faced each other on five occasions, with Pegula holding a slight 3-2 edge in the head-to-heads. Their most recent encounter, at the US Open last year, ended in a 7-6(4), 6-3 second-round win for Pegula.

“I’m just going to play my game, do what I’m doing this past week, this past year, and we’ll see what happens tomorrow,” said the 26-year-old Kenin. “It’s a great opportunity and I’m definitely looking forward to it.”

Will Kenin try to run Pegula along the baseline given that her opponent is coming off a taxing three-set semifinal against Ekaterina Alexandrova?

“Oh, no. Jess is a machine, so definitely not,” insisted Kenin. “I feel like if I would be in that position, my body would be dead and falling apart. She’s playing great tennis, and she’s used to all of this. I expect her to be fresh and ready for tomorrow.”

For Pegula, Kenin presents some of the same challenges Alexandrova brought in their two-hour and 18-minute semifinal, a match she squeaked out 6-2, 2-6, 7-5.

“She’s tough, another really tough matchup for me,” said Pegula. “She hits that flat ball, can take it really early, use your pace. I know she hasn’t been at her top level for a little while, but we all know she can still play like that when she wants to, and clearly this week she’s been playing really well. I think it’s going to be another one where I’m going to have to try and use some variety, try and mix it up a little bit when I need to, but still try and go after my shots and play my game.”

Kenin on the Tennis Channel set.