dailyloe.com – American tennis star Jessica Pegula enters the Charleston Open as the number one seed and defending champion. She aims to win her second consecutive title at the WTA 500 clay-court event this week. A victory would bring her career title count to eleven.
This achievement would tie her with fellow American Coco Gauff on the active WTA titles list. Pegula currently sits in tenth place with ten career titles. Gauff holds ninth place with eleven titles to her name.
The active WTA title leaderboard is topped by Venus Williams with forty-nine titles. Iga Swiatek follows with twenty-five, and Aryna Sabalenka has twenty-four. Victoria Azarenka and Elina Svitolina round out the top five.
Pegula’s first challenge is a second-round match against Kazakhstan’s Yulia Putintseva. She received a first-round bye as the top seed. Pegula has won all three prior meetings against Putintseva without dropping a set.
Putintseva advanced by defeating New Zealand’s Lulu Sun in straight sets. However, she has not won consecutive matches since the Australian Open. Pegula remains the heavy favorite for their upcoming clash.
A potential third-round opponent would be Elisabetta Cocciaretto or Yue Yuan. Cocciaretto recently gained attention at the Qatar Open. The draw presents a clear path for the defending champion.
Winning in Charleston would mark Pegula’s second career clay-court title. She claimed her first on the surface at this same tournament last year. Success would solidify her status among the tour’s most consistent winners.[]
Source: Tennishead
