It’s our Final Four and it’s not on CBS. Semifinal Saturday at the Charleston Open features three Americans, and you’d have to say top seed Jessica Pegula is the Duke University of the bunch: the favorite to win the title. It’s her third consecutive Charleston semifinal. it’s also her fourth semifinal of the 2025 WTA tour season. She made it to Super Saturday with a forceful comeback win over 2024 Charleston champion Danielle Collins, 1-6, 6-3, 6-0.
On the other side of the court is Ekaterina Alexandrova, who booked her spot in the semis with a powerful 6-1, 6-4 win over the third-seeded Qinwen Zheng on Friday. Alexandrova leads the series against Pegula 2-1, but it was the top seeded Pegula who won their only meeting on clay in 2021 in Rome.
Pick: Pegula in 2 sets
Your next semifinal features a pair of twentysomething Americans. Sofia Kenin has under-performed at Charleston before this week, where she was unable to get past the second round in her last six appearances on Daniel Island until this current breakthrough. She notched a routine victory over Anna Kalinskaya yesterday, 6-4, 6-3, the day after Kaliniskaya knocked Madison Keys from the event. She’s the lowest ranked player in the semis at #44.
If Kenin is the underdog in the semis, then Amanda Anisimova is the dark horse. The 2025 Doha champion shocked the Charleston crowd by slipping past hometown favorite Emma Navarro 7-5, 7-6(1) last night. It shouldn’t have come as much of a surprise since she also made the semifinals here in 2022. Her only meeting on clay against Kenin was down in Dothan, Alabama in 2017, which Anisimova won. That result means little due to its vintage.
Pick: Anisimova in 3 sets
–S. Fogleman
Tennis Atlantic 
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