Pegula Returns to Charleston With a Target on Her Back — Can the Queen of Green Clay Survive the Hunt?

Defending a crown is always harder than winning it the first time — and Jessica Pegula is about to find out just how heavy the Charleston title sits on her shoulders. When the American steps back onto the green clay this spring, she won’t just be greeted by polite applause. She’ll be greeted by a field that has circled her name, studied her patterns, and is coming for her like hunters who finally know where to aim.

Last year, Pegula mastered Charleston with a style that was part grit, part surgical precision. She out-rallied the scramblers, out-thought the ball-bashers, and looked every bit the seasoned tactician that clay often rewards. But that was before everyone else recalibrated. Now she is the blueprint. Now she is the scalp. Now every aggressive return, every change-up, every drive off the line will be thrown at her not for respect — but for dethroning.

Her challenge isn’t just physical. It’s psychological. She must win knowing everyone expects her to win; she must stay composed knowing every opponent will swing freely with nothing to lose. She must defend not just points, but reputation — the unspoken pressure that crushes so many title-holders when the chase flips direction.

And Charleston is no cupcake draw. Sabalenka’s power leaves no time to breathe. Swiatek, if she enters, turns clay into a battlefield where order rarely survives. Dark horses like Kasatkina, Jabeur, or even rising teenagers who treat pressure like oxygen are licking their chops. Pegula won’t just face one threat — she’ll face waves of them, each more desperate than the last.

But if there is a player built for a hunt, it might be Pegula. Her game is scalable. Her mindset is steel. She knows how to manage matches, manage nerves, manage noise. The question is whether she can do all three again with the lights brighter and the weapons pointed directly at her chest.

Charleston doesn’t forgive complacency — it exposes it. The Queen is back. The hunters are waiting. Now we find out if Jessica Pegula survives the hunt… or becomes its headline.