// Workers AI · dad joke modeWhat did the Charleston Open tennis ball say? I'm served.
| Charleston Open | |
|---|---|
| WTA Tour | |
| Founded | 1973 |
| Editions | 54 (2026) |
| Location | Hilton Head Island, SC, U.S. (1973–74, 1977–2000) Amelia Island, FL, U.S. (1975–76) Daniel Island, SC, U.S. (2001–current) |
| Venue | LTP-Daniel Island |
| Category | WTA 500 |
| Surface | Clay (green) – outdoors |
| Draw | 48S / 24Q / 16D |
| Prize money | US$2,300,000 (2026) |
| Website | creditonecharlestonopen.com |
| Current champions (2026) | |
| Singles | |
| Doubles | |
The Charleston Open, currently sponsored by Credit One, is a WTA Tour-affiliated professional tennis event, held every year since 1973.[1][2][3][4] The tournament celebrated 50 years in 2022 at the newly renovated Credit One Stadium located in Charleston, South Carolina, USA.[5] It is played on the green clay courts at LTP Daniel Island tennis center (which contains the 10,200-seat Credit One Stadium) on Daniel Island in Charleston.[6]
It is the oldest professional all-women's tournament in America with a $2.5 million purse, announced in 2026, making it the first standalone WTA 500 event to make its purse equal to those of comparable events on the men's ATP Tour.[7]
Tournament history
[edit]From its inception in 1973 to 2000, the tournament was held at the Sea Pines Plantation on Hilton Head Island with the exception of 1975 and 1976 when it was played on Amelia Island off the coast of Florida. The event moved to Charleston, and specifically Daniel Island, in 2001.[8]
From 1973 to 2015, the title sponsor was Family Circle magazine, which had made it the longest-running title sponsor in professional tennis.[9] Chinese automaker Geely, which has a factory in nearby Berkeley County for their Volvo brand, took over sponsorship from 2016 to 2021.[10][11] Credit One Bank, which had sponsored the 2020 tournament, became the title sponsor of both the tournament and stadium in July 2021.[12] Also in 2021, two tournaments were organised in consecutive weeks as a makeup tournament for those cancelled by pandemic restrictions. The Medical University of South Carolina sponsored the event.[13]
From 1990 to 2008, the tournament was classified as a WTA Tier I event. In 2009, it was downgraded to a WTA Premier tournament. It celebrated its 40th year in 2012[14] by naming its main stadium court in honor of Billie Jean King.[15][16] With the reorganization of the WTA's schedule in 2021, the tournament became a WTA 500 tournament. The 2021 second tournament held the week afterwards was part of the WTA 250 tournaments list.
In February 2026, Ben Navarro (Tournament Owner) announced that the Charleston Open would increase its prize money to a record $2.5 million. This established the event as the first standalone WTA 500 tournament to achieve prize money parity with comparable men's ATP Tour events, reaching the milestone seven years ahead of the WTA's 2033 goal for equal pay.[7]
Past finals
[edit]Singles
[edit]Doubles
[edit]Exhibition team tournament
[edit]Because of an ongoing pandemic, the tournament in 2020 was reformatted into a Laver Cup style team tournament. Each team captain's name in BOLD and listed first.
References
[edit]- ↑ "Venus Williams powered into the third round of the Charleston open". Archived from the original on April 11, 2016. Retrieved April 17, 2016.
- ↑ "WTA Tournaments – Family Circle Cup". WTA. Retrieved April 8, 2012.
- ↑ "Meredith Corporation Unveils New Title Sponsor for Family Circle Cup". Volvo Cars Open. Archived from the original on September 5, 2015. Retrieved September 2, 2015.
- ↑ "ABC: Andrea Petkovic in straight sets to reach the final of the Charleston Open". ABC News. April 11, 2015. Retrieved January 9, 2016.
- ↑ "Bencic holds off Jabeur in Charleston, wins sixth career title". April 10, 2022. Retrieved May 3, 2022.
- ↑ "Family Circle Cup (Tennis Tournament)". Daniel Island, South Carolina. Archived from the original on September 30, 2021. Retrieved April 8, 2012.
- 1 2 HARTSELL, JEFF (February 10, 2026). "In 'huge moment' for tennis, Charleston Open to offer record prize money". Post and Courier. Retrieved March 9, 2026.
- ↑ Daniel Kaplan (March 13, 2000). "After 28 years, Family Circle moving to a new $9M home". SportsBusiness Daily. Archived from the original on August 22, 2017. Retrieved April 13, 2017.
- ↑ Gene Sapakoff (August 30, 2015). "Tourney to take a ride with Volvo Tennis cup's new sponsor might help draw big names". The Post and Courier.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link) - ↑ Ashley Heffernan (September 1, 2015). "Family Circle Cup tennis tournament renamed to Volvo Cars Open". Columbia Regional Business Report.
- ↑ "Meredith Corporation Unveils New Title Sponsor For The Family Circle Cup". Meredith Corporation. August 31, 2015. Archived from the original on April 14, 2017. Retrieved April 13, 2017.
- ↑ Bilodeau, Kevin (July 21, 2021). "Credit One Bank to take over as title sponsor of Charleston tennis tournament and stadium". live5news.com. Retrieved January 25, 2024.
- ↑ "CHARLESTON TENNIS TO HOST WTA 250 TOURNAMENT FOLLOWING VOLVO CAR OPEN". Charleston Open. Retrieved April 9, 2024.
- ↑ "Family Circle Cup celebrates 40th year". ABC News. April 2012. Retrieved April 8, 2012.
- ↑ "Family Circle Cup names its stadium court after women's pioneer Billie Jean King". The Washington Post. April 7, 2012. Retrieved April 8, 2012. [dead link]
- ↑ "Court named after Billie Jean King". ESPN. April 8, 2012.
External links
[edit]- Charleston Open
- Women's tennis tournaments in the United States
- Clay court tennis tournaments
- WTA 500 tournaments
- Sports competitions in Charleston, South Carolina
- Recurring sporting events established in 1973
- Tennis tournaments in South Carolina
- 1973 establishments in South Carolina
- Upper class culture in South Carolina