Jessica Pegula thanked her husband and coaches for their support after she successfully retained her Charleston Open title. The American defeated Yuliia Starodubtseva 6-2, 6-2 in the final to continue her dominance at the clay-court tournament.
Pegula had to work hard to come out on top in Charleston, spending more than 12 hours on court this week. She needed three sets in her opening four matches but dominated proceedings in the title decider.
Jessica Pegula Thanks Husband, Coaching Team After Charleston Open Triumph
After successfully retaining her title, Pegula was quick to thank her husband, Taylor Gahagen. Gahagen, who cheered her on from the box during the final, was unable to stay for the victory speech as he attended to their pet. The American also thanked her coach, Mark Knowles, and spoke about how she put her team through the wringer with a run of grueling three-set matches in Charleston.
“I’d like to thank my team, my coach Mark, my husband Taylor, who is actually outside with my dog right now, but he is here. Stokey in my box; Riley, thank you guys for supporting me all week,” Pegula said during her post-match speech.
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“I really put you through a lot this week. It was a lot. I don’t know how many hours I spent on court, but it was way too much. But thank you guys for your support all week. It’s been awesome,” she added.
Pegula had to overcome several hurdles to make it two titles in a row in Charleston. The world No. 5 had to come from behind to defeat Yulia Putintseva in the second round, Elisabetta Cocciaretto in the third, and Diana Shnaider in the quarterfinals. She then beat Iva Jovic in three sets in the semifinal.
During her match against the Shnaider, Pegula appeared to be visibly frustrated after losing the opening set, and her coach’s blunt comment helped her get back on track.
“I was a little frustrated at the end of the first set, you know, like my coach kind of told me, like, ‘Your attitude hasn’t been great,'” Pegula said after her match against Shnaider. “And then I got kind of annoyed, and I was like, well, what do you expect it to be? Like I’ve been competing pretty well this week.”
Pegula has now won two titles this year (Dubai, Charleston) and reached the quarterfinals of every singles tournament she has competed in. The 32-year-old has a win-loss record of 24-4 in 2026, with three of those losses coming to Elena Rybakina.
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With the Charleston Open in the books, Pegula will head to Europe to ramp up her preparations for the French Open. The American is next slated to compete at the Madrid Open, which starts in two weeks’ time.
