There’s a new US No. 1 in town and she goes by the name Jessica Pegula.
The American tennis star has also dethroned Coco Gauff to officially become the new world No.3 after winning the Charleston Open.
Pegula’s championship win was anything but straight forward. The 31-year-old had to mount a second-set fightback to beat Sofia Kenin 6-3, 7-5 on Saturday.
It was the first All-American final since 1990 and Pegula nearly had her first clay title slip away from her when she was down 5-1 in the second set.
However, the top seed saved three set points and won six games in a row against 2020 Australian Open champion Kenin to seal the victory.
It is the latest victory following a string of strong performances from Pegula in recent weeks.
The American, who is the daughter of billionaire Buffalo Bills owner Terry Pegula, reached the Miami Open final last week.
“To be able to come here this week after a long two weeks in Miami and take the title is just incredible,” said Pegula.
“In the second set, I just wanted to hold, I just wanted to tell myself to get momentum for the third, because coming into a third like that never feels good.
“I honestly didn’t think I was going to break her twice, but luckily I could play some good tennis.”
The new US No.1 was congratulated by her fellow American stars after she celebrated her Charleston Open success on social media.
“Maddie and I had a great week,” Pegula wrote on Instagram about her and her dog. “It’s really special winning in a place that means so much to me.
“Charleston Open, you go above and beyond to make this tournament the best it can be – thank you for everything. I already can’t wait for next year, Charleston.”
There were no hard feelings from Gauff, who posted a celebratory one-word message to Pegula despite her compatriot bumping her down the world rankings.
Gauff commented: “Congratulations,” while recent Australian Open champion Madison Keys commenting: “Goat s***”.
Other tennis stars like Victoria Azarenka and Kim Clijsters also messaged Pegula, with the former writing: “Love that, congrats Jessie,” as the latter shared a handful of emojis.
Pegula has now won 17 of her last 19 matches, and with five victories this week, has 25 for the season.
This makes her the most in form player on the WTA Tour.
Pegula is also now the 10th American to win the home title in Charleston.
She joins Rosie Casals, Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova, Tracy Austin, Serena Williams, Venus Williams, Sloane Stephens, Madison Keys, and Danielle Collins as the other Americans to lift the title.
Meanwhile, Gauff, who has relinquished her title as the top ranked American player and drops to world No.4, has struggled on the tour this season.
The 21-year-old has had multiple early exits across several WTA tournaments since the Australian Open.
After a quarter-final defeat to Paula Badosa in Melbourne, the 21-year-old suffered further losses to Martha Kostyuk in Doha before losing to McCartney Kessler 6-4, 7-5 in Dubai.
Indian Wells and the Miami Open did not offer any reassurance to Guaff either as she was upset by Belinda Bencic and Magda Linette respectively.
Pegula’s rise to become to the US No.1 will now set up a battle between her and Guaff on the WTA tour, with the pair separated by just 38 points in the rankings.
