Three Americans, Former College Star Among Saturday Semifinalists
FOURTH STRAIGHT SEMI HAS PEGULA PONDERING REPEAT
[1] Jessica Pegula (USA) vs. [4] Iva Jovic (USA)
Credit One Stadium, not before 1 p.m.
Having survived back-to-back-to-back character-building three-setters, top seed Jessica Pegula will continue her quest for a title defense at the Credit One Charleston Open on Saturday when she meets compatriot Iva Jovic in the semifinals.
The inter-generational, all-U.S. clash will see the 32-year-old Pegula do her best to temper the streaking 18-year-old Southern Californian, who in a matter of a single calendar year has rocketed up the PIF WTA Rankings from No. 150 to a career-high No. 16. All Jovic has done this year is reach the Auckland semis, the Hobart final, and become the youngest from her homeland to reach the Australian Open quarterfinals in the Open Era. Now she’ll play for a spot in the final of only her third clay-court tournament at the tour level.
Jovic has yet to drop a set across three matches, including a 7-5, 7-5 dispatch of 2025 runner-up Sofia Kenin on Thursday, and a 6-3, 6-4 takedown of eighth seed Anna Kalinskaya on Friday.
Pegula got the best of Jovic in their only previous encounter en route to the title earlier this year in Dubai (6-4, 6-2 in the Round of 16). But this will be their first meeting on this surface.
Iva Jovic
“She’s been playing great tennis. Super tough competitor, very focused, works really hard, doesn’t have a ton of holes in her game,” observed Pegula. “Overall, she’s a really solid player who has been playing at a really high level this whole year. It’ll be tricky playing her on clay. It’s different than playing her on a pretty fast hard court in Dubai.”
After closing out Kalinskaya in orderly fashion, Jovic hit the practice court to polish up her game in preparation for the world No. 5 Pegula.
“She’s an incredible returner, so I’m going to have to serve very well, because she’s going to put a lot of pressure on me,” said Jovic. “But if you don’t believe you can win when you step on the court, you’ve already lost. I will definitely have that belief in myself, but I have so much respect for Jess. As I’ve said many times, she’s a player I’ve looked up for many reasons. I think we play quite similar, as well.”
“I’m going to have to mix it up a little bit,” she continued. “She’s one of the purest ballstrikers, and when it’s in her zone, she’s very dangerous. I’m going to have to try to disrupt that.”
[5] Madison Keys (USA) vs. Yuliia Starodubtseva (UKR)
Credit One Stadium, immediately following first semifinal
Madison Keys has long felt at home in Charleston. That’s why, when she and husband-coach Bjorn Fratangelo decided to tie the knot, they opted to do so here in the Lowcountry. Her results on the green clay of LTP Daniel Island reflect that connection, too. Keys has twice reached the Credit One Charleston Open final (2015 and 2019), winning it all in her second go-round. She’s reached the quarterfinals or better on six occasions.
She’ll be going into the unknown when she faces former Old Dominion University standout Yuliia Starodubtseva of Ukraine, who bested American McCartney Kessler in the quarters, 6-4, 6-4.
Coached by her boyfriend, Pearse Dolan, the Charleston debutante Starodubtseva is into her first semifinal at the tour level. She is the first Ukrainian to reach the elite eight in Charleston since Anhelina Kalinina in 2022.
“She’s a great player — lots of good results,” said Starodubtseva of her next opponent. “She’s probably one of the top players I’ll play on tour so far. I’m definitely looking forward to a challenge. She is maybe not my favorite opponent because she hits so big, but I feel like I’m also doing better with receiving the ball from the players that do hit big. I’m just looking forward to taking the challenge because I feel like everything is possible.”
Yuliia Starodubtseva
