Jessica Pegula is one win away from being a back-to-back champion at the 2026 Charleston Open. After defeating Iva Jovic 6-4, 5-7, 6-3, she takes on Yuliia Starodubtseva in the final on April 5.
While Pegula entered the tournament as the No. 1 seed and ranked No. 5 in the world, Starodubtseva started the week as the world’s No. 89, and only entered the tournament due to an automatic main-draw entry after a late withdrawal.
When Pegula was asked about the Ukrainian player, “I don’t really know much,” she admitted to reporters. “I’ve seen her play a few times. And I know her. I’ve seen her around, obviously. But it seems like she likes the clay. Super crafty.
“Seems like she’s a good athlete. But yeah, I’ve never played her, never practiced with her, so it’s definitely going to be tough, of course, playing somebody like that.”
Jessica Pegula, Daughter of Billionaire Terry Pegula, Joked About the Charleston Open Prize Money
GettyJessica Pegula of the United States is the daughter of a billionaire.
Before the tournament started, Pegula spoke about how the prize money jumped from $164,000—what she took home last year —to $354,345. “We couldn’t have done it last year when I won the tournament?” Pegula joked, per the Post and Courier.
“So, I’ll have to try to get it done this year.”
Pegula, of course, is the daughter of Terry and Kim Pegula, the billionaire owners of the Buffalo Bills and Buffalo Sabres. The Pegula family, worth worth $9.3 billion, according to Forbes, made their fortune in oil and gas.
During the 2024 U.S. Open, Pegula addressed her privileged upbringing. “People think I have a butler, that I get chauffeured around, that I have a private limo, that I fly private everywhere,” she said, per Yahoo! Sports. “Yeah, I’m definitely not like that.
“I mean, people can think what they want. I just think it’s kind of funny. A butler? I read these comments and I’m like, no, not at all. Maybe I should, I don’t know at this point. Is that what you want me to do? It’s a little annoying, but I think it’s kind of funny because I don’t know anyone that lives like that. It’s outrageous.”
Last year, Terry Pegula pulled up to the 2025 U.S. Open in a $100 million yacht.
Jokes aside, Pegula hopes other tournaments also follow suit in upping the prize money. “I think it sets the tone for other 500s,” she said. “Sometimes it takes an outlier to kind of set the bar really high, whether it is standards or prize money, whatever the goal is.”
Jessica Pegula Is ‘Tired’ With All of Her Matches Going 3 Sets
GettyJessica Pegula of the United States competes at the Charleston Open.
While Pegula appears to be the heavy favorite to win on Sunday, the 32-year-old admitted she’s a bit exhausted with all four her matches going to three sets on Daniel Island. However, Pegula says being tired may actually be helping her game.
“Sometimes I’m so tired and I don’t know, it kind of just lets me play tennis instead of getting frustrated or worried about things,” Pegula said in her on-court interview, per WTA.
“That sounds really bad. It sounds like I’m being really negative. But sometimes I give into my emotions a bit and it lets me play a little more free.”
Jessica Pegula Sends Message on $354,000 Prize at Charleston Open