Jessica Pegula defeated Diana Shnaider, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, to reach the Charleston Open semi-finals.
It was her third consecutive three-set win, having battled back from a set down against Yulia Putintseva (4-6, 6-4, 7-5) and Elisabetta Cocciaretto (1-6, 6-1, 7-6) earlier in the week.
How do you rate Jessica Pegula’s chances of ever winning a Grand Slam?
Frustrated after dropping the opening set again, Pegula got ‘annoyed’ with her coach.
Jessica Pegula says she was annoyed when her coach criticised her attitude
During her latest post-match press conference, Pegula revealed what happened after the first set of her quarter-final win.
“Sometimes I’m talking to them [her coaches, Mark Knowles and Mark Merklein], it’s hard to hear sometimes with the crowd, sometimes I’m just saying things that they don’t hear, but then I’m talking to myself at the same time,” she said.
“I was a little frustrated at the end of the first set. My coach kind of told me that my attitude hadn’t been great.
“I got kind of annoyed and I was like, ‘What do you expect it to be?
“I’ve been competing pretty well this week!’, and then I start rambling on to myself, like, are you freaking kidding me? Like seriously! I think I’ve been fine, obviously not when I lost the first set…
“But it’s hard, I feel like for me, someone who doesn’t show a ton of emotion, there are times where I feel like I have to let it out.
“He claims he kind of did it on purpose, but I don’t really know if that’s true.
“But he was like, ‘I did kind of want you to get mad at me a little bit, to stop overthinking all of the other things that were happening in the match’.
“Sometimes it happens, but I am talking to myself a lot, trying to talk myself through things, trying to let out a little bit of frustration.
“For me, it’s always fine as long as I don’t let it linger on and creep into points.
“Sometimes you have to do it to just snap yourself out of a funk or a mood.”
It’s no surprise that Pegula was frustrated, as she made life difficult for herself again in Charleston.
She’s spent at least two hours on court in each of her three matches this week.
Jessica Pegula at the Charleston Open
| Match | Opponent | Score | Match time |
| Quarter-final | Diana Shnaider | 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 | 2 hours, 10 minutes |
| Third round | Elisabetta Cocciaretto | 1-6, 6-1, 7-6 | 2 hours, 5 minutes |
| Second round | Yulia Putintseva | 4-6, 6-4, 7-5 | 3 hours, 10 minutes |
Heading into the last four, Pegula is by far the ‘least fresh’ of her fellow semi-finalists.
Charleston Open semi-finals
- [1] Jessica Pegula vs [4] Iva Jovic
- [5] Madison Keys vs Yuliia Starodubtseva
Match time of the Charleston Open semi-finalists
| Player | Matches played | Sets played | Time on court | Semi-final opponent |
| Jessica Pegula | 3 | 9 | 7 hours, 25 minutes | Iva Jovic |
| Yuliia Starodubtseva | 4 | 9 | 5 hours, 28 minutes | Madison Keys |
| Madison Keys | 3 | 7 | 5 hours, 22 minutes | Yuliia Starodubtseva |
| Iva Jovic | 3 | 6 | 5 hours, 3 minutes | Jessica Pegula |
If she is to lift the title in Charleston, she could do with a straightforward semi-final win…
Jessica Pegula’s three-set problem
The 32-year-old has played a few three-setters in Charleston, but this isn’t a new issue.
Pegula often finds herself in long matches against players she ‘should’ be beating comfortably.
Of the 14 matches Pegula played during the Asian swing last year, 11 required a deciding set.
Jessica Pegula during the Asian swing in 2025
- 2025 China Open 2R [WIN] vs Ajla Tomljanovic, 6-0, 6-3
- 2025 China Open 3R [WIN] vs Emma Raducanu, 3-6, 7-6, 6-0
- 2025 China Open 4R [WIN] vs Marta Kostyuk, 6-3, 6-7, 6-1
- 2025 China Open QF [WIN] vs Emma Navarro, 6-7, 6-2, 6-1
- 2025 China Open SF [LOSS] vs Linda Noskova, 3-6, 6-1, 6-7
- 2025 Wuhan Open 2R [WIN] vs Hailey Baptiste, 6-4, 4-6, 7-6
- 2025 Wuhan Open 3R [WIN] vs Ekaterina Alexandrova, 7-5, 3-6, 6-3
- 2025 Wuhan Open QF [WIN] vs Katerina Siniakova, 2-6, 6-0, 6-3
- 2025 Wuhan Open SF [WIN] vs Aryna Sabalenka, 2-6, 6-4, 7-6
- 2025 Wuhan Open F [LOSS] vs Coco Gauff, 4-6, 5-7
- 2025 ATP Finals RR [WIN] vs Coco Gauff, 6-3, 6-7, 6-2
- 2025 ATP Finals RR [LOSS] vs Aryna Sabalenka, 4-6, 6-2, 3-6
- 2025 ATP Finals RR [WIN] vs Jasmine Paolini, 6-2, 6-3
- 2025 WTA Finals SF [LOSS] vs Elena Rybakina, 6-4, 4-6, 3-6
Perhaps it was the fatigue caused by those long matches that played a role in Pegula’s inability to win the China Open (Lost in SF), the Wuhan Open (Lost in F), and the WTA Finals (Lost in SF).
If she is to make the step towards winning the biggest titles on tour, Pegula needs to find a way to win matches quickly!
Only time will tell what will happen when she meets Iva Jovic in the semi-finals, but you certainly won’t want to miss it when they face off on Saturday, March 4.
