Prepare for the excitement! The clay-court season on the Hologic WTA Tour is just around the corner, commencing next week. The first WTA 500 event of this season on clay will be the Credit One Charleston Open, hosted on the well-known green clay courts of Charleston.

This year marks the 53rd edition of this prestigious tournament. It began in 1973 on Hilton Head Island and has since become the longest-running professional women`s tennis tournament in the United States. It has also been honored as the WTA 500 Tournament of the Year for the last three consecutive years.

The main draw action is set to begin on Monday, March 31st, featuring 48 talented singles players, including half of the Top 20, and 16 dynamic doubles teams. They will all be competing for a share of the prize money, totaling over one million dollars. The singles and doubles championships are scheduled for Sunday, April 6th.

As the Road to Roland Garros starts in South Carolina`s Lowcountry, here are the vital details you need to know about the Charleston Open:

Main Draw Starts: Monday, March 31
Singles Final: Sunday, April 6, not before 2:30 PM
Doubles Final: Sunday, April 6, 12:00 PM
Qualifying Rounds: Saturday, March 29 and Sunday, March 30
Main Draw Ceremony: Saturday, March 29, 3:00 PM
Singles Main Draw Size: 48 players (including 6 qualifiers and 4 wild cards)
Doubles Main Draw Size: 16 teams
Time Zone: Eastern Daylight Time (GMT -4)
Tournament Ball: Dunlop Grand Prix Regular Duty

Key Storylines to Follow in Charleston:

  • Danielle Collins returns to defend her title. Last year, Charleston marked her first WTA 500 title win, occurring just a week after her first WTA 1000 victory in Miami. Her Charleston performance was part of a 15-match winning streak that propelled her back into the Top 10 rankings.
  • Madison Keys, often expressing her fondness for Charleston, will participate as a recent Grand Slam champion, achieving a career-high ranking of No. 5. Keys was a finalist in 2015 and won the Charleston title in 2019.
  • Jessica Pegula, another American player, will be the top seed. Currently ranked No. 4 globally, Pegula aims to reach her first Charleston final, having been stopped in the semifinals for the past two years. In both 2023 and 2024, it was the No. 4 seed who ended her run.
  • Emma Navarro, a local player from Charleston, will compete at a career peak. She recently broke into the Top 10 and reached multiple Grand Slam quarterfinals, including a semifinal at the US Open, within the last year. Notably, Charleston was the venue for Navarro`s WTA Tour main draw debut in 2019.
  • Along with Collins and Keys, other past Charleston champions listed in the main draw include Daria Kasatkina (2017), Veronika Kudermetova (2021), and Belinda Bencic (2022). This tournament will be Bencic`s eighth since returning from maternity leave. She has already secured a title in Abu Dhabi and has re-entered the Top 50.

Charleston Open Ranking Points and Prize Money:

Ranking Points & Prize Money
First round: 1 point | $6,400
Second round: 32 points | $7,975
Round of 16: 60 points | $12,900
Quarterfinals: 108 points | $25,550
Semifinals: 195 points | $51,085
Finalist: 325 points | $101,000
Champion: 500 points | $164,000

Stay tuned for further updates as the tournament approaches!