The quarterfinal lineup at the Credit One Charleston Open is set after Thursday`s matches, which saw victories for three of the top four seeds and a significant upset by Anna Kalinskaya over Australian Open champion Madison Keys.
Anna Kalinskaya defeated No. 2 seed Madison Keys with a score of 6-2, 6-4 in the evening session at Credit One Stadium. Kalinskaya capitalized on an uncharacteristically inconsistent performance from Keys, who is ranked No. 5 in the world. This win marks Kalinskaya`s first victory against a Top 10 player in ten months and propels her into her second quarterfinal of the season. Keys struggled with 40 unforced errors, won less than half of her first-serve points, and only converted one of eight break point opportunities. These factors allowed Kalinskaya to even their head-to-head record to 1-1.
However, Kalinskaya`s victory wasn`t the only upset of the day in Charleston. Here are more highlights from Thursday`s matches.
Kalinskaya `Needed This` Amidst a Difficult Start: Anna Kalinskaya, who reached a career-high ranking of No. 11 last October after a successful 2024 season including a WTA 1000 final in Dubai and WTA 500 final in Berlin, hadn`t replicated that form in the first three months of 2025. After missing the Australian Open due to illness, she arrived in Charleston with a 4-7 record for the season and only one tournament where she won consecutive matches – Singapore in February, where she withdrew in the semifinals.
Following her victory against Keys, her 11th career Top 10 win, Kalinskaya expressed that this result was something she `needed`.
`This victory is special. I needed it for my confidence because I had a tough start to the year. It`s great to be back and playing at such a high level,` she commented. `The key tonight was to vary the rhythm a bit. I used a few drop shots, especially in the first set.`
`I wanted to avoid long rallies because Madison is a fantastic player with incredibly powerful shots. So, I tried to be aggressive on my serve, step into the court whenever possible, and maintain consistency. I believe maintaining that level was crucial.`
Next, Kalinskaya will compete against Sofia Kenin, the 2020 Australian Open champion, who also caused an upset by defeating No. 5 seed Daria Kasatkina 6-3, 7-6(7) in the evening match.
Pegula Continues Strong Performance: While other top seeds have faced challenges in the early rounds, No. 1 seed Jessica Pegula has shown consistent dominance. After conceding only three games in her opening round, Pegula only lost five games against Ajla Tomljanovic, securing her place in her fifth quarterfinal of the season with a 6-3, 6-2 victory.
This match was significantly different from their previous encounter in the Austin semifinal last month, which Pegula won 6-1, 4-6, 6-3. In this match, Pegula won five games in a row in the middle of the match to take control.
Pegula will face defending champion Danielle Collins in the quarterfinals, holding a perfect 6-0 head-to-head record against her. Collins overcame a break deficit in both sets to defeat No. 11 seed Jelena Ostapenko 7-5, 6-3, marking her eighth consecutive win in Charleston.
Zheng Advances, Alexandrova Defeats Shnaider: Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen`s 13th consecutive clay-court victory was hard-fought. The No. 3 seed had to recover from a break down in the final set to defeat No. 13 seed Elise Mertens 6-3, 3-6, 6-3.
Her next opponent is No. 9 seed Ekaterina Alexandrova, who defeated No. 6 seed Diana Shnaider 6-1, 6-2. Alexandrova, the Linz champion, ended a four-match losing streak with these two wins this week, following a streak of eight consecutive wins that ended in the Qatar Total Open semifinals in February.
Rupert Caldwell