In 2022, fears arose about the future viewership of women’s tennis post-Serena Williams. Yet, Coco Gauff’s sensational 2023 US Open victory silenced critics. The then 19-year-old’s maiden Slam win against Aryna Sabalenka captivated audiences, shattering viewership records with 3.4 million on ESPN – a staggering 92% jump from the 2022 women’s final and even exceeding the men’s final numbers. This surge in popularity, mirroring trends in other sports like basketball and golf, has prompted insights from players like World No. 4 Jessica Pegula.
Pegula just secured her second straight final–2025 season’s 4th–spot this season. On Saturday, she defeated Ekaterina Alexandrova in the Charleston Open semifinal. Following her SF win over Alexandrova, Pegula sat down for an interview with the Tennis Channel.
The host admired her consistency, showring praise for being a top 10 face for a long time in the rankings. For the record, around this time last year Pegula was celebrating her milestone 100th straight week in the Top 10. Seeking her attention towards his T-shirt, having something written about women sports, the interviewer asked Pegula, why does she think people have finally started to notice and invest in women’s sports.
“I just think we’ve had so many superstars that have come out, whether it’s in tennis or you see Caitlin Clark, or Nelly Korda, All these girls are really, really good, and they’re kinda putting their sports on their backs, and kind of they have that star power that really can draw fans to come and watch. And I think people start watching and then they are interested, then they’re like, wow, this is actually really good. This is high level. These people are pretty nasty,” Pegula began putting across her stance.
Additionally, he asked her, “What is the next thing you like to see in terms of women’s sports getting to another level?” To this, Pegula replied, “I think just continuing to keep growing at least for tennis, revenue shares at the slams, not just us but the men as well, getting TV deals, bigger TV deals, getting more exposure. Because I really do think it’s, if not the most, entertaining women’s sport. I mean, maybe I’m a little biased because I play.”
Aug 10, 2024; Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Jessica Pegula (USA) celebrates after winning a point against Peyton Stearns (USA, not shown) during quarter finals at Sobeys Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports
Meanwhile, Pegula also underlined that she personally prefers to watch the “women than the men sometimes because there’re just hitting aces and running down every ball and it’s the same, kind of point of every time.” Any specific reason for her inclination toward the WTA side?
“I love the drama in women’s sports right now,” she explained. “I mean, anybody can upset anybody. There’s so much depth and you never know what’s gonna happen every single week. So to me, it’s so entertaining. So I think continuing to get more exposure to everybody that they can watch is really the way. That’s how people get interested and become fans and find somebody they like and that’s how the sport grows.”
That’s true. Just look at this season itself. When everyone assumed Sabalenka would pull off a three-peat in Australia, the now 30-year-old Madison Keys stunned the world and the World No.1 herself. The American WTA pro won her maiden Slam at the Rod Laver Arena. And the trend has since continued.
Just two weeks later, Amanda Anisimova secured her first WTA 1000 title, defeating Jelena Ostapenko 6-4, 6-3 in the rain-interrupted Qatar Open 2025 final. Then, a 17-year-old Mirra Andreeva dominated two back-to-back events. Firstly, she became the youngest WTA 1000 champion in Dubai. Then she outperformed title favorite Sabalenka in the Indian Wells final clash.
Coming back to Pegula, having already won a WTA title this season, at the ATX Open last month, she’s set to fight for the trophy in an all-American final with compatriot Sofia Kenin on Sunday. While hoping to avoid a similar outcome to the Adelaide International and Miami Open and secure her second title of 2025, she has succinctly described this upcoming match.
Jessica Pegula on being part of an all-American final at the 2025 Charleston Open
For the uninitiated, the last time an all-American final took place in Charleston Open was back in 1990. Over three decades ago, Martina Navratilova and compatriot Jennifer Capriati locked horns in an ultimate battle. Result? The 18-time Slam queen Navratilova emerged victorious with a 6–2, 6–4 score line.
Fast forward to April 2025, and we have Jessica Pegula taking on Sofia Kenin. Ahead of her face-off with the World No.39, Pegula revealed her thoughts. In the same interview, she said, “I’m just happy I get to be a part of it, so an all-American final will be a lot of fun tomorrow.” And what about her opponent?
It will be Kenin’s first final on the clay court since 2020’s French Open title clash against Iga Swiatek. Back then, the Pole beat the 2020 AO winner with a score line of 6–4, 6–1. But lately, Kenin has shown a lot of consistency, especially in Charleston.
She hasn’t dropped a set so far. After making it to the QF stage, following her victory over Daria Kasatkina, she expressed a lot of self-confidence as well.
During a post-match interview, Kenin said, “I felt like I had a good game plan coming to the match, and yeah, I mean I played some good tennis. You know the way I played today I really felt the ball on my racket, so you know if I playing like this it’s tough to beat me so yeah I am very happy, I have lot of confidence.”
While she’s excited to be in an American-only final, Kenin looks to win against Pegula. Following her entry in the final, due to her SF opponent Amanda Anisimova walking over owing to a hip injury, she made her intentions clear.
“Of course, it would be amazing,” she said in a press conference dated April 5. “I’m obviously going to do the best I can to get the title. I got to the final and (now) I’m just going to go for it. Regardless of what happens, I’m really happy with this week and [will] take every positive thing that I’ve done here.”
Going into the title clash, Pegula leads the h2h tally 3-2 against Kenin. Clearly she’s having an upper hand. But in tennis, you never know. In Pegula’s own words, “anybody can upset anybody” on a given day. What’s your prediction for this all-American battle in Charleston? Let us know in the comments below.
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