Salt on the rim and silverware in hand for back-to-back champion Pegula

CHARLESTON, S.C. -- Walking down the western corridor of the Shops at Charleston Place, Jessica Pegula is greeted with a few "congratulations" from passers-by as she approaches the exit with the glass trophy in her right hand -- her second one.

She sees the black letters on the Riviera Theater reading "Jessica Pegula. Back to Back Champion. Credit One Charleston Open." Fittingly, "Back to Back" was same phrase she wrote on the camera lens after defending her Charleston Open title and winning her second WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz title of 2026. 

It certainly didn't come easy, that's for sure, as Pegula, the World No. 5, spent 11 hours and 22 minutes on court for singles. She played four three-set matches, dropping the first set in her first two matches. But, she saved her best performance for last, defeating first-time finalist Yuliia Starodubtseva 6-2, 6-2. 

From her quarterfinal run at the Australian Open, a title in Dubai, more quarterfinal finishes at both Sunshine Double tournaments and the Charleston defense, Pegula said she considers this her toughest swing. 

"Coming off a good run in Australia ... playing Dubai, Indian Wells, Miami, here, it's always the busiest swing," she told wtatennis.com Sunday evening in downtown Charleston. "I'm thankful that I do very well, and I'm winning a lot of matches, which keeps me busy."

The more you win, the busier you are. That's defined not only Pegula's 2026 season, but her play since last year's US Open. In the 10 tour-level events in that span, she's notched two titles, reached the final in Wuhan, advanced to five semifinals and reached two quarterfinals. In 2026 alone, she's won 24 matches, the most of any player on tour, a testament to her ability to thrive when she's busy. 

Charleston's been a special tournament for her. Growing up, she developed her game in the Lowcountry on Hilton Head Island, a few hours drive from Charleston, and she's played the event since 2011 when she was a qualifier. Her first main draw Charleston win -- a 6-7 (2), 6-4, 7-5 comeback over Garbiñe Muguruza -- was perhaps a foreshadowing for the chaos Pegula put herself through this week. 

"I remember beating about Muguruza. That was wild," Pegula said her champion's press conference. "We were literally on this back court, and nobody watched us, which is crazy. I totally forgot about that.

"I've come a long way since then...There's a lot of history here for me, not just training here, but playing this tournament so many times, and now being able to say I've conquered it a couple of times in a row now and had really good results in the past as well. I think it's one of those tournaments where I always knew I felt really comfortable and could play really good tennis."

During her champion's photoshoot, wtatennis.com sat down with the two-time Charleston champ. Check out more from the conversation:

Well done, Congratulations. With all the three set matches, do you think you gave people their money's worth?

Pegula: I definitely gave them a lot of entertainment throughout the week, and a lot of really entertaining matches. Hopefully some good tennis, so I think they definitely got their money's worth (laughing).

If I were playing all these matches the way they went, I would really want a very nice drink at the end of the tournament. What was your first drink, and what is your drink of choice?

Pegula: I had the First Serve drink on the Tennis Channel live desk that they got for me. It was a little melted by the time I got there, but they had it for me, which I think they also did last year. For my drink of choice, right now I've been going with a margarita. Not too sweet. Something more like a grapefruit or kind of that lighter fruit tasting. And salt, definitely salt, salt on the rim.

At Yuliia's press conference, she used the word “stimulated” a few times to describe how she felt throughout the journey to her first final. Going back to Quebec 2018, your first final, and then Washington 2019, your first title, did you feel the same way and how does it compare to now?

Pegula: It's definitely different going through it then, and then now. I would say early on, I was probably more like what Yuliia was saying. You don't really sleep much, you’re kind of overthinking. You're very excited, you're nervous, but there's just like a lot of emotions going on.

I remember I played really well to start that Quebec final, and then in the middle of the match, you start realizing like, ‘Oh my gosh, I could actually win.’ And I totally kind of froze up and didn't play very well from then on and ended up losing.

DC was a weird experience where I just honestly played really well. I wasn't really quite sure what was going on. It was almost like I kind of blacked out of it a bit and was just in a flow state. That doesn't always happen, so I think when it does, you're just very grateful that, ‘Oh, I just played a really good match and I won the tournament.’

It honestly depends on the day. Depends on the week. I feel like any final you can be in a totally different state sometimes.

The theme of the tournament for you was ‘Welcome to Clay Court season.’ In comparison to your Dubai run, I did the math. It was 11 hours and 22 minutes -- just for singles -- here. Dubai, it was seven hours and 36 minutes. It was crazy the whole week, but how are you feeling?

Pegula: My body actually feels pretty good, but I just feel very drained. I feel like someone kind of like sucked the life out of me or kind of zapped me, electrocuted me and I'm like very fried.

I actually felt much better today than I did a couple days ago. I think after my match with Diana [Shnaider], I was pretty wiped. Going into the match with Iva [Jovic], I was really tired. There was definitely times in that match where I was looking at my coach, and I think I said it -- I kind of just let myself be tired. I knew I was tired. I wasn't fighting it. I was emotionally pretty out of it.

I actually feel better today. Obviously played a much quicker match. Still a lot of stimulation from doing all the stuff when you win a tournament, so once I get home, I'll be actually able to just lay on the couch and de-stimulate a bit.

Can you recall a tournament that you felt 'What is going on with all these crazy matches?'

Pegula: Miami last year I had a couple crazy matches. I played Emma [Raducanu], [Anna] Kalinskaya -- there were a couple with really crazy scorelines. Actually Miami, a couple of times. At night, I've had a couple really crazy matches there. 

Berlin [2024], I had a crazy final. Against Kalinskaya again, that was a crazy match and I ended up winning that tournament. It's like random sometimes.

Players have raved about how great of a tournament Charleston is, but regarding the city, what are your favorite things to do in Charleston when you come?

Pegula: Definitely eat. There's so many good restaurants. There's so many good bars, really cool rooftops -- not just to drink -- but the vibe of having a drink somewhere is always really cool. I've done it with my husband before where we'll go some place to have a drink and then you go to some different place to have dinner.

It's hard to get in places around here. It's a very big foodie town so you have to plan in advance or know somebody that can help get you in. I would say shopping is definitely a second one. Downtown here, especially. It's always an easy place to shop. They have some great boutiques and name stores.