There’s something about the green clay tennis courts of Charleston.
The clay, made up of crushed volcanic rock from the Blue Ridge Mountains of West Virginia, signals a new season on the WTA Tour.
The tour year annually switches from hard courts to clay at the Credit One Charleston Open, then moves on to the slower red clay of Europe leading up to the French Open.
“I think, especially on the clay, you have to have kind of that grittiness and that toughness,” 2025 Charleston Open champion Jessica Pegula said of the green clay, “because the serve isn’t as effective.
“There’s not as many free points, and I think winning a couple of tough points or a tough game can kind of turn the momentum of a set or match.”
Pegula, ranked No. 5 on the WTA Tour, and eight other top 25 players will test their clay-court grittiness as the Credit One Charleston Open returns to Daniel Island for the 26th year this week.
Here’s what’s to know this year:
Who’s in
Pegula, No. 11 Ekaterina Alexandrova and No. 12 Belinda Bencic give the Charleston Open three of the top 12 on the WTA Tour.
Former Charleston champs include Pegula (2025), Bencic (2022), Madison Keys (2019), Daria Kasatkina (2017) and Sloane Stephens (2016).
Grand Slam winners? Bianca Andreescu won the U.S. Open in 2019, and Sloane Stephens lifted that trophy in 2017. American Sofia Kenin took the Australian Open in 2020, and Madison Keys won in Australia in 2025.
Olympic gold? Sure, Bencic won that in Tokyo in 2021.
Top Americans include Pegula, No. 17 Iva Jovic, No. 18 Keys and No. 45 Hailey Baptiste.