Regardless of the outcome of the final quarterfinal match on Friday, the Charleston Open semifinals were guaranteed to feature three American players.
Amanda Anisimova secured her spot by defeating local favorite Emma Navarro in a close match, winning 7-5, 7-6 (1). Anisimova`s tiebreak performance was key, as she won seven of the last eight points.
This is the first time since 2003 that three American women have reached the semifinals in Charleston. Back then, Justine Henin defeated Serena Williams in the final, ending Williams` impressive 21-0 start to the season.
The question now is whether one of these American players will win the title this year, or if Ekaterina Alexandrova will emerge victorious.
Jessica Pegula vs. Ekaterina Alexandrova
Pegula`s Strengths: Jessica Pegula is arguably the player with the best form among the semifinalists.
The American player demonstrated her resilience by overcoming defending champion Danielle Collins in her previous match, winning 1-6, 6-3, 6-0 after losing the first set and being down a break in the second. Pegula is currently on a winning streak reminiscent of Collins` dominant run in Miami and Charleston last year.
Pegula was a finalist in Miami, losing to Aryna Sabalenka, and has won all three of her matches in Charleston so far, making it eight wins out of her last nine matches. This equals her best result in Charleston, and she is determined to go further this year.
Pegula, currently ranked No. 4 in the world, is playing her signature style of tennis – characterized by flat, fast shots and excellent movement. However, she will need to elevate her game against Alexandrova, who has defeated her in their last two encounters.
Interestingly, Pegula`s only victory over Alexandrova was on clay in Rome four years ago.
“She`s obviously beaten a lot of top players,” Pegula acknowledged. “But I’m hoping on the clay it will be a different story. The last time I beat her was on clay so hopefully I can use that to my advantage a little bit.”
Pegula`s impressive 23 match wins this year are unmatched by any other player, highlighting her consistency.
Alexandrova`s Strengths: Looking at their head-to-head record in quarterfinals, Alexandrova has defeated Pegula in two of their last meetings. In fact, Pegula has won eight of her last ten quarterfinal matches, and Alexandrova accounts for the two losses.
Alexandrova seems to have found a successful strategy against Pegula. In both of her recent quarterfinal wins against Pegula, Alexandrova came back from losing the first set to win decisively. In Doha, she dominated with a 6-1, 6-1 victory.
“She’s always consistent – on serve and return, like on every shot,” Alexandrova said about Pegula. “There’s no easy targets with her and you just need to earn every single point. You just need to be prepared to play point after point because nothing’s going to be easy with her.”
Alexandrova is known for her streaks. Earlier this year, she won eight consecutive matches, claiming the title in Linz and reaching the semifinals in Doha. After a four-match losing streak before Charleston, she has now won three matches in a row, including victories over No. 6 Diana Shnaider and No. 3 Zheng Qinwen. Her win against Zheng ended Zheng`s 13-match winning streak on clay.
At 30, Alexandrova has a chance to make history. Despite a “love-hate relationship” with clay, she is in a strong position in Charleston. She has reached two clay-court semifinals before, including Charleston in 2022, but never a final. This could be her opportunity.
Amanda Anisimova vs. Sofia Kenin
Anisimova`s Strengths: Anisimova displayed great resilience against Navarro, especially considering the strong home crowd support for Navarro.
Navarro was serving for the second set at 5-3 and was up 30-0 when Anisimova turned the tide. Anisimova`s improved return game, which she will need against Kenin as well, helped her force a tiebreak. This was crucial, as Navarro has played a high number of three-set matches this season (39) with a strong winning record in them (27-11).
Anisimova and Kenin have played twice before, but those matches were in ITF tournaments eight years ago. Anisimova won their only clay-court match in Dothan, Alabama.
“It was so long ago,” Anisimova said. “She was also someone I didn’t want to play back then. Yeah, it’s been a while. Going to be playing an American, so hopefully the crowd will be great out here again. Hopefully it will be a good match.”
Reaching the semifinals in Charleston matches Anisimova`s best result at this tournament and marks her best performance in a WTA 500 event. Anisimova is on a positive trajectory this year, having won her first WTA 1000 event in Doha a few months ago and accumulating 13 match wins in 2025.
Kenin`s Strengths: Kenin`s past results in Charleston haven`t been strong, with a 2-6 record in main-draw matches. However, this year she has secured four impressive wins.
As the only unseeded player remaining, Kenin has won all her matches in straight sets, defeating seeded players Belinda Bencic, Daria Kasatkina, and Anna Kalinskaya. Against Kalinskaya, Kenin`s serve was dominant, winning 26 of 32 first-serve points (81%) and being broken only once.
“Amanda’s a very solid, very flat hitter,” Kenin noted. “She’s added variety to her game, drop shots, coming in. It’s going to be hit or miss from both of our sides because we both like the flat game. We don’t really like to play those long points, do all that sliding.”
“But yeah, I’m looking forward to it. One American’s going to be in the finals, I’m just hoping that’s me.”
Kenin`s only other clay-court semifinal appearance was five years ago at Roland Garros, where she reached the final after winning the Australian Open title.
“Been playing some great tennis this year, especially this week,” Kenin said. “I took this as a great opportunity, very happy with my level. It’s only great things, let’s see what happens tomorrow.”
Rupert Caldwell