Madison Keys has made a strong start to her campaign at the 2026 Charleston Open, claiming a dominant victory over Donna Vekić to cruise to the third round. Meanwhile, her close friend and fellow American Jessica Pegula was pushed into survival mode to keep her title defense alive at the WTA 500 event. The stark contrast in their fortunes prompted an amusing assessment from Keys after her victory.
Madison Keys Happy to Leave the ‘Drama’ to Jessica Pegula
Following a first-round bye, defending champion and top seed Pegula locked horns with Yulia Putintseva in the second round of the Charleston Open. After losing the opening set, the American was forced to dig deep to secure a gritty 4-6, 6-4, 7-5 comeback victory. The thrilling battle lasted three hours and 10 minutes, marking the longest tour-level win of Pegula’s career.
Although the world No. 5 acknowledged that such a physically demanding match wasn’t ideal before her next encounter, she expressed her belief that the experience would serve her well later in the tournament.
“Even though it’s not ideal maybe for tomorrow, but I do feel like getting a three-hour match, I mean, you really break in the lungs,” Pegula said to press. “Like the aerobic and anaerobic fitness gets broken in quite a bit. And I feel like that actually, if I can get through tomorrow, I think can set me up more further down the line.”
However, Keys had no interest in following the same script. She delivered a commanding performance against Donna Vekić to notch a 6-2, 6-3 win. After watching Pegula survive a scare at the event, Keys was quick to joke about her preference for a drama-free workday.
“Yeah I let Jess have the drama for the day. And I felt like I would try to keep it a little less drama for me,” Madison Keys said. “I think overall, super happy with how I played today, served really well and knew that I was going to have to play really good tennis. Donna’s a fantastic tennis player so really happy to come out, do what I needed to do and get the win.”
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Who Will Madison Keys and Jessica Pegula Face Next at Charleston Open
Keys will look to carry her momentum into the third round of the WTA 500 event, where she faces Anna Bondár. Bondár set up a meeting with the fifth seed by defeating Magdalena Fręch 7-5, 6-3. Meanwhile, Pegula will battle Elisabetta Cocciaretto for a spot in the quarterfinals after the Italian cruised past Yue Yuan 6-0, 7-5.
With Keys and Pegula placed in opposite halves of the draw, a meeting between the two Americans would only be possible in the final. Their most recent encounter took place in the fourth round of the 2026 Australian Open, where Pegula secured a 6-3, 6-4 win, leveling their head-to-head record at 2-2.
