Jessica Pegula Claims First Grass Title at 2024 Berlin Open
The American faced Anna Kalinskaya of Russia in the final.
Jessica Pegula of the United States, 30, defeated Anna Kalinskaya of Russia, 25, to win the Women’s Singles title at the 2024 Berlin Open in Berlin, Germany (a WTA 500 event). The score in the final was 6-7 (0-7 tiebreaker), 6-4 and 7-6 (7-3 tiebreaker) in favor of Pegula.
This was the second match Kalinskaya and Pegula have played against each other on the WTA Tour - with Pegula winning their prior meeting. Today’s victory was the first title Pegula has won on the 2024 WTA Tour and the fifth title of her career in single’s competition. Notably, this was the first title she has claimed from a grass court event. And finally, she becomes the first player representing the United States to win the title in Berlin since the event converted to grass courts in 2021.
Heading into this tournament, Pegula was ranked as the Number 5 tennis player on the 2024 WTA Tour, while Kalinskaya carried the Number 24 designation. By winning in Berlin, Pegula has received 500 points in the overall rankings. Meanwhile, Kalinskaya has picked up 325 points.
Petra Kvitová of the Czech Republic (No. 55) was the tournament’s reigning champion. This year though, she is currently off the tour pregnant with her first child. Pegula was the event’s fourth seed while Kalinskaya entered the main draw with an unseeded slot. The competition allowed the Top 4 seeds to advance directly to the second round.
Pegula arrived in the final after winning against Donna Vekić of Croatia (No. 39), Kateřina Siniaková of the Czech Republic (No. 30), and Coco Gauff of the United States (No. 2). She prevailed against the event’s top seed to win the title.
In the other half of the main draw, Kalinskaya defeated Nao Hibino of Japan (No. 93), Markéta Vondroušová of the Czech Republic (No. 6), Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus (No. 3), and Victoria Azarenka of Belarus (No. 19). She knocked out the event’s second and fifth seeds to reach the final.
The revised rankings for the 2024 WTA Tour will be officially released on Monday, June 24. The tour will then play two tournaments between June 23 and 29: the Bad Homburg Open in Bad Homburg, Germany (a WTA 500 event) and the Eastbourne International in Eastbourne, United Kingdom (a WTA 500 event). Both competitions will be played on grass courts.
Siniaková is the reigning champion at the Bad Homburg Open. She is looking to defend the title but is unseeded in the main draw - facing Clara Burel of France (No. 43) in the first round. Kalinskaya was originally going to compete here as well but withdrew after reaching the final in Berlin.
Meanwhile, Madison Keys of the United States (No. 12) is the reigning champion at the Eastbourne International. She too is attempting a title defense as the event’s fourth seed - which has earned her a bye into the second round. Pegula is competing as the event’s second seed - which also advances her to the second round.