Preview Charleston Open final | Jessica Pegula going for consecutive titles as Yuliia Starodubtseva eyes up dream conclusion to fairytale run

The clay swing is a hugely critical part of the tennis campaign. For many, it began in the USA at the Charleston Open. It has been dominated by Jessica Pegula and Yuliia Starodubtseva who will clash in the final for glory and to commence this part of the season with a bang.

Pegula will be the overwhelming favourite to defend her title with her recent displays in other tournaments in 2026 proving that she will be a tricky customer to dethrone. However, her title defence could be unstuck by an unlikely source. Starodubtseva has come this far and will have full belief she can win a maiden WTA title in a huge upset result.

Pegula's fine form on the WTA Tour is continuing. Despite all the deep runs she has enjoyed this year, it is only a second WTA final of the year. This follows the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships success against Elina Svitolina.

The American came into this tournament as the number one seed and reigning champion with a lot to play up to. She was the outright favourite in a strong field, looking to halt the momentum she is continuing to build up on court. She went into the tournament after being on the end of a brace of defeats by the world number two Elena Rybakina at Indian Wells and Miami Open, the only tournaments this year where she has not reached the semi-finals.

The 32-year-old is back on track in that aspect, reaching a fourth consecutive semi-final at Charleston. Twice she has now converted that into a final appearance, winning the title last year for her first success on clay in a 6-3, 7-5 win over Sofia Kenin. More silverware is very much within touching distance for Pegula now.

Her pathway to the final has been less than easy or comfortable. She picked up a tag in the Asian swing last year of winning in three sets and this has seemed to continue into Charleston. She came from behind to take down Yulia Putintseva 4-6, 6-4, 7-5 before finding herself in a really tricky position against Elisabetta Cocciaretto, a break down in the third set before coming out on top 1-6, 6-1, 7-6(1). Diana Shnaider became the latest player to win the first set off Pegula but again she found a way to win 3-6, 6-3, 6-2. The semi-final would be up against the touted talent Iva Jovic. Pegula finally won the first set the fourth time of asking but was still embroiled in a thrilling battle, booking her spot in the final with a 6-4, 5-7, 6-3 win.

Before this tournament, Starodubtseva had never even reached a WTA semi-final. She has once gone toe-to-toe with some extremely talented tennis players and come out on top to break new ground in style. She is one win away from finishing off the job and really making a name for herself.

After a slow start to the year, she was able to build up some momentum by qualifying for the Miami Open and making it to the third round stage, eventually losing out to the sixth seed Amanda Anisimova. She had originally planned to go through qualifying to get into Charleston but was fortunate that a withdrawal pushed her automatically into the event.

She capitalised on this with a tremendous run in South Carolina. It has most definitely topped her run to the China Open quarterfinal in 2024 as she looks to send a message of intent to the WTA Tour that she is here to stick around. The 26-year-old is currently placed at 53rd in the live rankings. If she wins the title against the number one seed, she will rise to an astonishing 42nd in the world.

Her run differs from Pegula with it being a lot more comfortable. She defeated Shuai Zhang with ease, winning 6-3, 6-0 ahead of lucky loser Ekaterine Gorgodze was taken down 3-6, 6-1, 6-2. She was supposed to clash against Ekaterina Alexandrova but the Russian pulled out ahead of that second round clash. That was her only set dropped to date in this tournament. An ominous 6-1, 6-0 trouncing over Renata Zarazua was backed up with a 6-4, 6-4 win against McCartney Kessler. Her biggest win came in the semi-finals against two-time finalist and former champion Madison Keys. The Ukrainian defied the odds, coming out on top 6-1, 6-4 to leave her on the cusp of something special.