Ekaterina Alexandrova, seeded No. 9, powered her way into the Charleston Open semifinals for the second time in her career, achieving a notable 6-1, 6-4 victory over No. 3 seed Zheng Qinwen on Friday. This marks her third semifinal appearance in 2025.

Alexandrova`s previous Charleston semifinal run was in 2022, where she was defeated by Belinda Bencic. However, in that instance, she didn`t overcome any seeded players as the No. 7 seed. This year, her path to the semifinals included a dominant win against No. 6 seed Diana Shnaider in the Round of 16, followed by a swift 1 hour and 24-minute victory over Zheng, another higher-ranked opponent. This win also signifies her third triumph against a Top 10 player this season.

Reflecting on her victory, Alexandrova commented, “Even though the score might suggest an easy match, I felt every game was closely contested and intense. I was aware of Zheng`s strong serve and overall talent, so I focused on capitalizing on every opportunity presented.”

She added, “I am very pleased with my performance today and thrilled to be back in the semifinals here.”

Key Stats from Alexandrova`s Victory:

  • 3: Alexandrova successfully defended all three break points against Zheng and converted three out of five break point opportunities she earned.
  • 4: Prior to Charleston, Alexandrova had experienced a four-match losing streak since her semifinal loss to Amanda Anisimova at the Qatar Total Open. Before this setback, she had an impressive eight-match winning streak, highlighted by a title win at the WTA 500 Upper Austria Ladies Linz and Top 10 victories over Aryna Sabalenka and Jessica Pegula in Doha.
  • 5: Alexandrova began her match against Zheng with a commanding lead, winning the first five games. This strong start included a challenging opening service game where she had to save a break point after being up 40-15. In the third game, she also faced pressure, being taken to deuce from a 40-15 lead.
  • 8: Zheng received medical attention for her right arm during a medical timeout in the first set. Throughout the match, she managed to hit only eight winners, with two of them being aces.
  • 13: Before her loss to Alexandrova, Zheng had an impressive 13-match winning streak on clay, which included winning her second consecutive WTA 250 title in Palermo after securing Olympic gold the previous summer.
  • 40%: Zheng`s first serve percentage was just 40% in the match, allowing Alexandrova to win 46% of her return points.

Looking ahead, Alexandrova is set to face Pegula for the fourth time in their careers. Alexandrova has won their last two encounters, including a three-set victory in the Qatar quarterfinals and another three-set win in the Miami quarterfinals last year. Pegula`s sole victory against Alexandrova was on clay in Rome four years ago.

Anticipating the semifinal match, Alexandrova stated, “It`s going to be extremely challenging because Pegula is incredibly consistent and steady from the baseline, making it tough to dictate play.”