Daniel Island, Charleston, SC, is the scene this week for the $800,000 Volvo Car Open, North America’s largest women’s-only tennis tournament. The event, formerly known as the Family Circle Cup, moved to Charleston in 2001 from Hilton Head Island, SC, and is celebrating its 45th anniversary this year.
Madison Keys: Headlines quarterfinal play.
Today, Friday, the tournament moves into the quarterfinals where six seeds are joined by two upstarts. Defending champion Daria Kasatkina – the No. 3 seed – and 2015 Charleston finalist Madison Keys headline Friday’s play, which also includes fifth-seed Julia Goerges and No. 8 seed Anastasija Sevastova.
Kiki Bertens stopped the Cinderella run of Fanny Stollar, the world No. 219 who had qualified and made the third round. Bertens packed too much punch for the Hungarian teen, winning 6-2, 6-4 to book her place in the Charleston quarterfinals for the first time in her career.
Joining Bertens as those who have surprised this week are world No. 101 Bernarda Pera who is playing in her first-ever WTA quarterfinal. In fact, the Charleston event is just the sixth tour-level WTA event she has ever played. The 23-year-old American with Croatian roots was ranked outside the world’s top 300 just 15 months ago.
Other quarterfinalists are Kristyna Pliskova, a hard-hitting, left-handed Czech who upset No. 2 seed Petra Kvitova earlier this week and No. 14 seed Alize Cornet, who upset French compatriot and top seed Caroline Garcia Thursday night. The championship matches will be played on Sunday beginning with the doubles final at 10:45 am, followed by the singles final.
About Daniel Island
Located within the City of Charleston, Daniel Island offers 23 miles of rivers and creeks, a variety of traditional neighborhoods and a private country club.
Golf courses are designed by some of the top names in golf course architecture–Tom Fazio and Rees Jones. In addition, parks, trails, shops, restaurants, schools, churches and more contribute to a full and varied lifestyle.
Daniel Island is surrounded by winding rivers and creeks and stunning saltwater marsh vistas, creating a memorable environment for this 4,000-acre community as a place where people live, work, learn and play.
A traditional town, the community features residential neighborhoods with tree- and sidewalk-lined streets, bike trails and neighborhood parks. Send me more information about Daniel Island!
About the Volvo Car Open
The Volvo Car Open welcomes more than 90,000 spectators each year. The tournament features a singles draw of 56 players, a qualifying draw of 32 players and a doubles draw of 16 players.
In conjunction with Tennis Channel and WTA Media, the Volvo Car Open is showcased from the first ball struck in main draw competition to the last ball played in finals, throughout the U.S. and 174 international partners.
The tournament receives more than 100 hours of tennis; live from Charleston, broadcast across the globe to millions of fans. The tournament is operated by Charleston Tennis, LLC. For more information on the Volvo Car Open, visit VolvoCarOpen.com.
