Charleston Open Round-Up: Madison Keys and Danielle Collins lead strong American performances

On Tuesday at the WTA 500 Charleston Open, home players took centre stage with wins from Madison Keys, Danielle Collins, and Amanda Anisimova, leading a strong American charge.

The first-round matches wrapped up, and the second round got underway with several seeded players making their tournament debuts. One of the day's standout performers was Maria Sakkari, who delivered a commanding victory over Marina Stakusic to set up an exciting clash with third seed Zheng Qinwen.

The main draw’s second day kicked off at Credit One Stadium with former world No. 3 Maria Sakkari (No. 64) facing young Canadian star Marina Stakusic (No. 126). The Greek displayed her experience and dominance in a solid 6-3, 6-2 victory. Coming into the tournament with doubts over her form—holding her lowest ranking in over six years (No. 64) and a 4-7 record since the Australian Open—Sakkari secured her spot in the second round, where she will face Tokyo 2024 gold medalist Zheng Qinwen.

Later in the day, Sofia Kenin (No. 44) took down compatriot Bernarda Pera in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4. The former Australian Open champion now prepares for a high-stakes showdown against 17th seed Belinda Bencic (No. 41), who has been in excellent form in recent months. Their only previous meeting was six years ago on the grass courts of the Mallorca Open, where Kenin claimed victory.

Madison Keys (No. 5), the 2025 Australian Open champion, also emerged victorious in an all-American clash against Caroline Dolehide (No. 73), winning 6-3, 7-6. Meanwhile, Hailey Baptiste (No. 90) secured another win for the home crowd, defeating 22-year-old Australian Olivia Gadecki (No. 100) 6-2, 6-4.

Defending champion Danielle Collins (No. 22), seeded 7th, had no trouble dispatching Robin Montgomery (No. 105) in the morning session, winning 6-3, 6-1. She now awaits a potential showdown against former Roland Garros champion Jelena Ostapenko, though first, she must get past another American, Louisa Chirico (No. 167), who outlasted Erika Andreeva (No. 98) in a tight 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 battle on Tuesday.

In the final match of the night, WTA 1000 Qatar Open champion Amanda Anisimova (No. 16) returned to the winner’s circle with a dominant 6-2, 6-2 victory over former world No. 9 Veronika Kudermetova (No. 52).