Quarterfinal Friday at the 2026 Credit One Charleston Open
Diana Shnaider
PEGULA STILL IN LINE FOR REPEAT; FORMER CHAMPS BENCIC, KEYS CLASH
Three former champions — Jessica Pegula (2025), Belinda Bencic (2022) and Madison Keys (2019) — remain standing as the Credit One Charleston Open heads into the quarterfinal round on Friday on Daniel Island.
After back-to-back three-setters and, between singles and doubles, having clocked more than six hours of court time, the top seed Pegula will look to continue her quest for a repeat when she kicks off the Credit One Stadium lineup (11 a.m.) against former NC State standout Diana Shnaider. The fifth-ranked Pegula owns a pair of wins over the seventh-seeded southpaw, but this will be their first meeting on clay.
“I think a lefty is always tricky, especially her,” said Pegula. “She’s crafty, but can also play pretty aggressive. When she gets matches under her belt, she gets confident. I’m going to have to do my best to adjust.”
“Jess is a very solid player, very consistent,” countered Shnaider, who celebrated her 22nd birthday on Thursday with a 6-3, 6-0 win over Canada’s Leylah Fernandez. “It’s never easy to play her. It’s another challenge for me. She’s the defending champion, so she has the pressure. I know that she never backs down, so I’m definitely expecting a tough match and a grind on the clay. It’s a good chance for me, and I will just try to accept it and go for it.”
Jessica Pegula
Second on (not before 12:30 p.m.) will be Bencic versus Keys. The fifth seed Keys holds a slight 3-2 edge in the career head-to-heads, but it was Bencic who claimed their last encounter on the green clay of LTP Daniel Island (6-4, 6-4 in the Round of 16) during her run to the title in ’22.
“Maddie is a very tough opponent. She has a big game,” said Bencic, 29. “But I’d rather play her here on clay than on a hard court.”
“It’s a tough matchup,” admitted Keys. “We’ve gone back and forth a few times. She’s just so good at taking the ball early, and no matter what surface we’re on, she always kind of plays how she wants to play. I think that makes her really dangerous. It’s going to be a tough match and another day where I’m going to have to really try to make sure that my weapons are working for me.”
Belinda Bencic
Players in this article
