Preview Charleston Open Semi-finals | Number one seed Pegula faces Jovic as former champion Keys takes on Starodubtseva

The semi-final stage of the Charleston Open has been written in stone. Four players have made it this far in the tournament, three Americans on home soil, as they look to confirm their spot in the final and fight it out for glory.

The clay swing has started off well for these four fortunate and skilled competitors. Jessica Pegula was the favourite beforehand as she is set to showcase her title credentials against a talented opponent in the form of Iva Jovic. Following that, Madison Keys will take centre stage against an unlikely opponent, with Yuliia Starodubtseva breaking new ground in a hugely significant week which could become more notable.

The pathway to another Charleston Open semi-final has not been a smooth one for Pegula. Notorious for a three-set battle, she has kept this trend alive with a whole host of action-packed tennis in her first tournament of the year on clay.

She is back into the semi-final stage of a tournament after going out in back-to-back tournaments at the Sunshine swing in the quarterfinals to the world number two, Elena Rybakina, who proved to be a tricky customer for her to deal with. Aside from those two, the last time she failed to reach the semi-final in a tournament was back in August 2025 at the Cincinnati Open, showcasing what blistering form she is in.

It was topped off with glory at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, but apart from that, triumph silverware has not been as common as she would have hoped for, especially with all these deep runs. In fact, the success in Dubai was her first title since the Bad Homburg Open back in June 2025, coming a couple of months after she won her first title in Charleston.

A huge favourite for the title from the off, the 32-year-old is only two wins away from achieving that feat. Yulia Putintseva was the first to be defeated, coming out on top 4-6, 6-4, 7-5. She would also fall behind against Elisabetta Cocciaretto in disturbing fashion but managed to get on level terms before breaking back at a crucial time enroute to winning the third and final set tiebreak to advance 1-6, 6-1, 7-6(1). Diana Shnaider stood in the way of a semi-final spot, but Pegula proved to be a convincing winner in the end. She won nine of the last 11 games on offer to come out on top 3-6, 6-3, 6-2.

Her next task may not falter as easily. Jovic has already shown the minerals that she is a top tennis player at the tender age of just 18-years-old. Her quarterfinal run at the Australian Open along with a final appearance at the Hobart International show the skillset and maturity she possesses on court.

Still unbeaten in this tournament, Jovic is debuting in Charleston as she looks to get to grips with the grey clay before transitioning to the European red clay in her first full WTA clay swing. A new experience for her will bound to offer her a wealth of lessons and experience that will be taken into the next stages of her tennis career.

She has faced off against Pegula before, losing in Dubai in straight sets. Just before that, her win over Shnaider was the final match she played which involved three sets, meaning that she is not normally on court for a long time whether in the winning enclosure or exiting the tournament.

One more win and she will be in a third WTA final. Her first test came in the form of Alycia Parks, who was defeated 6-3, 6-2. An out-of-sorts Sofia Kenin put up a brave fight but late breaks ultimately cost her against the fellow American as Jovic won 7-5, 7-5. The fourth seed would then blast past Anna Kalinskaya 6-3, 6-4 to set up a highly anticipated matchup against the world number five.

It is a welcome return to form for Keys. It is a first semi-final appearance since the 2025 Indian Wells, coming just after her incredible Australian Open title run. She has reached a few quarterfinals along the way but for the most part has been hampered with injuries and inconsistent form.

A brace of third round exits at the Sunshine swing was a damaging turn of events for the world number 18 who had lofty ambitions to get back on track. Her last WTA final was in fact the Australian Open in 2025, a stat she will be desperate to quickly change.

If she is going to do it anywhere, Charleston is not a bad place to do it. Keys is a two-time finalist having lost in three sets to Angelique Kerber back in 2015 before four years later turning those wrongs into rights with a solid win over Caroline Wozniacki to seal the deal.

More success could soon be bestowed upon Keys with a possible final showdown against good friend Pegula maybe occurring. That is still far away from happening, but much closer than at the start of the event. She comfortably bypassed qualifier Donna Vekic 6-2, 6-3 before Anna Bondar fell 6-2, 7-5. Her toughest test was against Belinda Bencic who has ambitions of dislodging Mirra Andreeva in the top 10. Fortunately for the Russian, Keys was able to produce some brilliant tennis to comeback and win 4-6, 6-3, 6-2.

While this WTA semi-final lark is something Keys has gotten used to over the years, this is completely knew territory for Yuliia Starodubtseva. She will take on the American in her first-ever WTA last-four appearance as she edges closer to what could be a maiden WTA triumph.

The 26-year-old reached the China Open quarterfinal back in 2024, but this run may have even trumped that. This run follows her making it to the third round at the Miami Open after successfully qualifying for the tournament. She would go on to lose against Amanda Anisimova but the signs were there that she would be a serious threat.

Before this tournament, her career high ranking was 63rd. In the live rankings, she currently sits in 62nd, gaining 193 points which has seen her sail up a whopping 27 places in a crazy turn of form. She is still in the tournament, which means more progress could be made. A spot in the final will boost her up into 53rd with the title placing her as high as 42nd in the world.

Keys will prove to be a very difficult test, but she will be relying on the momentum she has gained throughout the week. She was able to easily get past Shuai Zhang 6-3, 6-0 before avoiding the chance to play against Ekaterina Alexandrova, who pulled out of the tournament due to a lower back injury. Instead, Georgian lucky loser Ekaterina Gorgodze stepped in her place but would fall short against Starodubtseva as she won 3-6, 6-1, 6-2. The Ukrainian did not even break a sweat in a 6-1, 6-0 routing over Renata Zarazua before taking down McCartney Kessler 6-4, 6-4 to continue the incredible run.