Daniel Island welcomes 2nd tennis tournament

Daniel Island might not see tennis fans this spring, but it’s getting double the action from players.

Charleston Tennis LLC, which owns and operates the Volvo Car Open, will host a second World Tennis Association tournament: the Charleston 250. Both events will play without fans.

The Charleston 250 will run from April 10-18 at the LTP Daniel Island Tennis Center, immediately following the Volvo Car Open scheduled for April 3-11.

Bob Moran, tournament director, said he was approached by WTA Tour CEO Steven Simon about the opportunity to host a WTA 250 level event in Charleston.

The idea came about when the Billie Jean King Cup, a global tennis tournament originally scheduled for April 13-18, was postponed until later this year, Moran said. The BJKC Finals hosted by BNP Paribas were going to be played in Hungary.

“After consulting with ownership, we quickly determined that a consecutive event in Charleston would provide players with a consistent and stable environment to compete and decided that moving forward was the right thing to do,” Moran said. “The WTA Tour is a true partnership between players and the tournaments, which means we have to work together for the betterment of the Tour. Our decision to host this event is a reflection of our partnership and commitment to supporting players.”

The Charleston 250 will feature a 32-player draw made up of 23 direct entries into the tournament, four wild cards, four qualifiers and one special exempt.

No. 1 seed Madison Keys, who won the Volvo Car Open in 2019, will be joined by Grand Slam champion Sloane Stephens, Amanda Anisimova, Jessica Pegula, Coco Gauff, Danielle Collins and Charleston native Shelby Rogers.

In addition to the qualifying and singles draws, the Charleston 250 will also host a doubles tournament.

To maintain proper safety protocols during this time, the tournament has partnered with WTA and the Medical University of South Carolina.

The Tennis Channel and WTA Media will broadcast the tournament with a full week of coverage worldwide.