Jessica Pegula reveals what she said to her coach when 5-1 down in the second set of the Charleston Open final as she began to panic

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Jessica Pegula has won the first clay court title of her career at the WTA 500 Charleston Open.

Pegula and Sofia Kenin made history in Charleston, but it was the former who was able to take the title.

In her previous matches against Danielle Collins and Ekaterina Alexandrova, Pegula admitted to feeling tired after playing a lot of tennis in recent weeks.

However, the new American number one was able to overcome that to win the biggest of her 2025 season so far.

Jessica Pegula reveals what she told her coach in the second set of the Charleston Open final

Pegula ended up beating former Australian Open champion Kenin, 6-3 7-5, but it was anything but a straightforward match.

After winning the first set, Pegula quickly found herself down 5-1 in the second, with Kenin having three set points to take it to a decider.

Despite this, Pegula managed to battle both the wind and her opponent to win six consecutive games to win the prestigious Charleston Open title.

When speaking in her post-final press conference, Pegula revealed that admitting to herself and her coach that she felt tired actually helped her win the match.

“I actually just said ‘I think I hit a wall’,” said Pegula. “I just got really tired, because I think I was like realizing that I was going to go to a third, and I was kind of like ‘Uh gosh, I don’t know if I can do this again’.

“Like I’ve done this the last couple matches, even in Miami playing a couple of tough third sets and I think it’s just more emotionally draining than anything. But, I think at the same time I’ve done it before in the past where once you kind of accept that you’re not trying to fake it or force it you’re like, ‘Oh okay I’m tired, how do I figure this out?’.

“And I think sometimes when you can kind of relax, take a breath and refocus, sometimes that can help and I think that actually did help me today. I mean, I think I was able to play some tough games there and pick up my level to end the second and I think I just got the momentum back to win it in straights.”

Jessica Pegula overtakes Coco Gauff to become American number one

As a result of winning two titles so far this year, as well as Pegula reaching the Miami Open final where she lost to Aryna Sabalenka, she has now matched her career-high ranking of world number three.

Pegula has overtaken Coco Gauff in the process, becoming the new American number one.

This gap is only likely to get bigger, with Pegula not defending any more ranking points during the clay court season after missing tournaments last year due to neck and back injuries.

While now American number two Gauff has 1,398 ranking points to defend up to and including Roland Garros, having reached the semi-finals of the clay court major in 2024.

Gauff has struggled for form in 2025 so far, and will look to change her fate when she begins her clay court season at the Stuttgart Open.

Pegula will also be present at the stacked indoor clay court tournament that gets underway on Monday April 14, with Ons Jabeur also making her comeback in Stuttgart.