Jessica Pegula has real chance to rival Coco Gauff on WTA list at the Charleston Open

Returning a 12 months later, Pegula has a chance to double her clay title tally and transfer stage along with her countrywoman Coco Gauff for one key statistic.

Is Coco Gauff the third-best participant on the WTA Tour?

If not, who’s?

Jessica Pegula can tie Coco Gauff for WTA titles if she wins the Charleston Open

Pegula at the moment sits tenth in the list of lively WTA title winners.

One place and one title behind Gauff.

Active gamers with the most WTA titles

• 1. Venus Williams – 49
• 2. Iga Swiatek – 25
• 3. Aryna Sabalenka – 24
• 4. Victoria Azarenka – 21
• 5. Elina Svitolina – 19
• 6. Karolina Pliskova – 17
• T-7. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova – 12
• T-7. Elena Rybakina – 12
• 9. Coco Gauff – 11
• T-10. Jessica Pegula – 10
• T-10. Madison Keys – 10
• T-10. Elise Mertens – 10
• T-10. Belinda Bencic – 10

Jessica Pegula’s 10 WTA titles

Coco Gauff’s 11 WTA titles

A win in Charleston would transfer Pegula stage with Gauff on 11 titles.

But who will she have to beat to make that dream a actuality?

Jessica Pegula’s route to the Charleston Open title

Receiving a bye into the second spherical, Pegula will play Kazakhstan’s Yulia Putintseva.

The always-entertaining Putintseva defeated New Zealand’s Lulu Sun in straight units to attain the second spherical, however hasn’t gained back-to-back matches since the Australian Open.

Pegula has gained all three of her earlier conferences with Putintseva and has but to drop a set in opposition to the world quantity 72.

If she have been to lengthen that profitable streak to 4-0, she’d meet both Elisabetta Cocciaretto or the fortunate loser, Yue Yuan, in the third spherical.

Cocciaretto stole the highlight at the Qatar Open not too long ago, knocking out Gauff en route to the quarter-finals.

She additionally holds a win over Pegula, producing one in all the upsets of the Grand Slam season when she beat the American in the first spherical of Wimbledon final 12 months.

Pegula would doubtless choose to face Yuan, in opposition to whom she gained the Korea Open title three years in the past.

Then, in the quarter-finals, Pegula may play Leylah Fernandez, Polina Kudermetova, or Diana Shnaider.

She has a mixed 5-1 head-to-head report in opposition to the trio and would enter all three potential matches as the favorite.

Looking forward to the final 4, Pegula may face a number of gamers in good kind.

How do you fee Jessica Pegula’s probabilities of ever profitable a Grand Slam?

The most notable of which is the fourth seed, Iva Jovic.

Still simply 18, Jovic has already established herself as an elite participant in the girls’s recreation, and will probably be trying to notch her second top-10 win of the 12 months if she does meet Pegula in the semis.

Pegula did, nevertheless, win their sole earlier assembly, at this 12 months’s Dubai Tennis Championships.

The 32-year-old gained’t need to get forward of herself, however there are some mouth-watering match-ups to look ahead to if she have been to attain the ultimate.

Top-20 gamers Jessica Pegula may play in the Charleston Open ultimate

• Ekaterina Alexandrova
• Belinda Bencic
• Madison Keys

A ‘Player’s Box Podcast’ conflict with co-host Madison Keys could be a becoming finish to the WTA Tour’s first North American stint of the 2026 season.

As would matches in opposition to Switzerland’s Belinda Bencic or Russia’s Ekaterina Alexandrova.

Only time will inform if Pegula will defend her title in Charleston, however you definitely gained’t need to miss any of the motion.

Pegula will start her title defence in opposition to Putintseva in the second spherical on Wednesday, April 1.