The victory gives Pegula her second title of 2026, following her WTA 1000 triumph in Dubai in February, and the 11th singles title of her career. She is now 11-11 in WTA singles finals and leads the WTA Tour with 24 wins this season.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cIt was definitely a tough path last year and this year,\u201d said Pegula, who spent more than 13 hours on the court this week between singles and doubles. \u201cI think sometimes when you win a tournament, you kind of romanticize it, like it was so easy. It\u2019s usually not. There are usually some days when it\u2019s really hard. I think I shifted my mindset coming back and defending.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Pegula joins an impressive list of women who have won this title more than once, including Williams, Chris Evert, Steffi Graf, Martina Navratilova and Tracy Austin.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Pegula trailed briefly on serve at 2-1, but she rattled off five straight games to take the first set in just over half an hour.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The turning point came at 2-2, when a Starodubtseva forehand miss into the open court gave Pegula a small opening at 30-30. Another forehand error on the next point handed her a break point, and though she didn\u2019t convert that one, a third miss off the same wing for Starodubtseva delivered Pegula the break.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Pegula built a 5-0 lead in the second. Serving for the match, she hit a brief snag in a 12-minute game in which Starodubtseva saved three championship points and earned her first break of the afternoon. But Pegula righted the ship two games later.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
A clean forehand strike to open the final game set the table for a tidy love hold, and 15 minutes after her first opportunity, she converted her fourth championship point to seal the win, WTA reports.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Pegula built a 5-0 lead in the second. Serving for the match, she hit a brief snag in a 12-minute game in which Starodubtseva saved three championship points and earned her first break of the afternoon. But Pegula righted the ship two games later.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Starodubtseva is set for a significant jump. After entering the week at No. 89, she is projected to rise to a career-high No. 53, 10 spots above her previous best of No. 63.<\/p>\r\n\r\n