Belinda Bencic used Media Day at the Credit One Charleston Open to counter the criticism leveled at one of her stiffest rivals, Coco Gauff. The American leads their head-to-head 5-2 and five of their seven meetings have gone three sets, including their most recent match last week at the Miami Open. Gauff’s serve has drawn attention after she won Roland Garros last spring, with observers noting increased inconsistency.

Bencic addressed those observations directly when asked about Gauff by the press:

Q. You just played her in Miami, but could you talk about Coco Gauff and what makes her so tough to beat?

BELINDA BENCIC: She’s a tough opponent. We have some great matches every time we play, and it’s really admirable how she moves. You definitely feel like the court is much smaller. I like to attack, of course, and she makes it really hard. She makes you replay balls. Her serve is also very tough. I know she gets a lot of comments and this and that, but her serve is very good. It’s very fast when she puts it in. Of course, sometimes you can have some problems with the rhythm and everything, but I don’t think she should get so much negative comments because her game is very unique and a very different rhythm. She changes speed and spins and rhythm. She really can play everywhere in the court, and also she’s moving great. So, she’s obviously a very deserving No. 3 or No. 4 in the world.

A former world No. 4, Bencic has been more forthcoming with reporters since returning to action from maternity leave in 2025. She is the No. 3 seed in Charleston. Earlier in the Media Day interview she spoke frankly about physical challenges she faced during a loss to Gauff at the Hard Rock Stadium:

“I don’t think it’s a taboo topic anymore, which I love,” said Bencic. “I think other female athletes have also spoke about being done hiding this topic.

“It’s no excuse if you lose a match, but it’s something we deal with.”

Two years after her first WTA singles title in Rabat, Peyton Stearns collected a second trophy much closer to home by winning the ATX Open. The former University of Texas standout had lost in the first round of her adopted home event in each of the last two years, but completed a goal she has pursued since the WTA 250 was added to the calendar in 2023.

In 2023 she won her first WTA main-draw match in Austin and reached the quarterfinals as a wild card less than a year after lifting the NCAA Division I national singles trophy. This week she snapped a three-match skid at the tournament by coming from a set down to beat Brit Francesca Jones in round one.

After that match Stearns admitted that she thought “it would be nice for a Longhorn to win this tournament, finally.

“So hopefully I’m the first,” she said.

Stearns won three of her five matches in three sets. In the final she saved a trio of set points in the opening set before closing out a 7-6(8), 7-5 victory over Taylor Townsend. Townsend was contesting her first tour-level singles final at the age of 29.

Townsend had earlier erased a 4-0 first-set deficit in the semifinals against Ashlyn Krueger. In the title match Townsend held two set points on return at 5-3, and after Stearns rallied to force a tiebreaker the left-hander left her third chance on the table at 8-7 after erasing Stearns’ 6-3 lead.

Stearns also survived tight early tests during the week, including saving match point in the first round against Linda Fruhvirtova as she accumulated wins despite not having advanced past a tour-level quarterfinal before this week. The final was the second straight all-American title match in Austin, following Jessica Pegula’s win over McCartney Kessler for the 2025 crown. Both home contenders will see meaningful ranking gains ahead of the Sunshine Double.

Taylor Townsend completed a rare feat at the ATX Open on Saturday, advancing to her first WTA singles final and, later the same day, reaching the doubles final alongside Storm Hunter. The 29-year-old, long-established as a doubles specialist, added another day to a season that has highlighted her versatility.

Townsend’s doubles résumé includes two Grand Slam titles, 2024 Wimbledon and 2025 Australian Open, and she reached WTA doubles world No. 1 last year. Still, a singles breakthrough had eluded her until Austin.

In a career-first WTA singles semifinal, Townsend beat Ashlyn Krueger 7-6 (6), 6-3 on Center Court. She recovered from a 0-4 deficit in the opening set and closed out the victory in one hour and 49 minutes.

“I’m creating a legacy for myself, and I’m doing it my way,” Townsend said in her on-court interview, after being asked to reflect on well-documented career ups and downs.

“You know, honestly, everyone that’s talked sh-t they gotta eat their words!

“I’m still standing, I’m still here, and I’m not going anywhere. And it’s only just going to keep getting better from here, so I hope that they buckle up.”

A few hours after her singles win, Townsend and Hunter, the No. 1 seeds, defeated Cathy McNally and Kimberly Birrell 7-5, 6-4 to book their place in the doubles final. Townsend and Hunter will face No. 3 seeds Eudice Chong and Liang En-Shuo for the doubles title.

Her opponent in the singles final is No. 4 seed Peyton Stearns. The 24-year-old from Cincinnati, ranked No. 62, has strong Austin ties after playing college tennis at the University of Texas. Stearns was a three-time All-American and helped the Longhorns win back-to-back NCAA team titles.

Stearns advanced to the singles final with a 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 semifinal victory over Kimberly Birrell. All week she has been publicly supported by actor and Texas graduate Matthew McConaughey, including behind-the-scenes moments and selfies while holding up the Hook ’em Horns sign.

Townsend will compete on Sunday for both the tournament singles title and the doubles crown.