CREDIT ONE CHARLESTON OPEN ANNOUNCES 2022 PLAYER FIELD

Top WTA talent to compete in Charleston, including seven Grand Slam champions, five top 10 players and four former Charleston Open champions

CHARLESTON, S.C. – The Credit One Charleston Open, the largest women’s only tennis tournament in North America, has announced its preliminary player field for the 2022 tournament. The stacked competition features seven Grand Slam champions, five of the world’s top 10 players and four former Charleston Open champions. The Credit One Charleston Open will celebrate its 50th year in 2022, in the newly renovated Credit One Stadium on Daniel Island in Charleston, South Carolina, April 2 – 10.

Highlights from the main draw include:

• Seven Grand Slam champions: Iga Swiatek (2020 Roland Garros), Sofia Kenin (WC) (2020 Australian Open), Simona Halep (2019 Wimbledon and ‘18 Roland Garros), Garbiñe Muguruza (2016 Roland Garros and ‘17 Wimbledon), Sloane Stephens (2017 US Open), Jelena Ostapenko (2017 Roland Garros), Petra Kvitova (2011 and ‘14 Wimbledon)
• Five top 10 players: Iga Swiatek, Paula Badosa, Karolina Pliskova, Garbiñe Muguruza, Ons Jabeur
• Four past Charleston Open champions: Veronika Kudermetova (2021), Madison Keys (2019), Sloane Stephens (2016), Andrea Petkovic (2014)
• Three former World No. 1 ranked singles players: Garbiñe Muguruza, Simona Halep, Karolina Pliskova
• Nine Charleston player field debuts, including Iga Swiatek and Simona Halep
• International player field represented in Charleston, featuring 11 Americans
• Two Charleston natives: Shelby Rogers and Emma Navarro (WC) to compete in hometown tournament again

At the top of the Credit One Charleston Open player field is current World No. 4 Iga Swiatek, who will make her Charleston debut at this year’s tournament. The 20-year-old won her maiden WTA title in 2020 at Roland Garros and has been a mainstay in the top 20 by capturing titles in Adelaide and Rome in 2021 and reaching the quarterfinals of Roland Garros in 2021 and the semifinals of the Australian Open in 2022. She recently captured her fourth career title in Doha.

Badosa, currently ranked World No. 7, started the 2022 season with a win in Sydney. She captured her first two titles last year – in Belgrade and Indian Wells. The 24-year-old also reached the quarterfinals of the French Open, Western & Southern Open and the Olympics, as well as the semifinals in Madrid and Charleston, where she lost to eventual champion Veronika Kudermetova.

World No. 8 Pliskova holds 16 career singles titles and is a two-time Grand Slam finalist. The Czech player was the 2021 Wimbledon finalist and a 2021 US Open quarterfinalist. Last season, she also reached the Rome and Montreal finals, the semifinals in Cincinnati and the quarterfinals in Doha and Stuttgart. The former World No. 1 has remained part of the world’s top 10 rankings for seven consecutive seasons.

Rounding out the top-four in Charleston’s player field is Garbiñe Muguruza. Her 2021 season included three quarterfinals, five finals appearances and three singles titles, which she captured at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championship, Chicago Fall Tennis Classic and AKRON WTA Finals Guadalajara, where she won her 10th career title – her biggest hardcourt title ever – and became the first Spanish woman to win the WTA Finals.

The nine-day Credit One Charleston Open showcases a singles draw of 56 players, which is made up of 43 direct entries into the tournament, five wild cards and eight qualifiers.

Sofia Kenin, the 2020 Australian Open champion, received a main draw Charleston wild card. The Grand Slam champion and former top-five player holds five WTA titles. In addition to winning the Australian Open in 2020, she also captured the title in Lyon and reached the finals of Roland Garros. She was a quarterfinalist in Adelaide earlier this year.

Emma Navarro, a current University of Virginia tennis player and Charleston native, has also accepted a main draw wild card. She won the 2021 NCAA Women’s Tennis Singles Championship in her rookie season. Navarro is the second player in the program’s history to win the NCAA Singles championship, joining fellow Credit One Charleston Open contender Danielle Collins, who won in 2014 and 2016.

Three additional players will join the main draw via wild card entry, to be announced at a later date.

The highly anticipated Credit One Charleston Open will welcome back fans this spring for the first time since 2019. The modernized Credit One Stadium will also be unveiled during the upcoming event, offering upgraded seating options and elevated hospitality experiences for patrons and players.

Charleston Tennis, LLC, which manages Credit One Stadium under a lease from the City of Charleston, is currently renovating the 20-year-old facility. The city-owned venue is undergoing upgrades to enhance the stadium experience for patrons, performers, tennis players and event management, allowing the venue to attract world-class athletes and talent to Daniel Island.

The Credit One Charleston Open will celebrate its 50th year in 2022. The tournament has been a pioneer in women’s professional sports since 1973, paving the path for female tennis players to receive equal recognition, respect and pay in the sport. Originally held on Hilton Head Island, the event moved to Charleston in 2001 and is played on Daniel Island at the LTP Daniel Island tennis center, home to the Credit One Stadium.

Tickets and packages can be purchased online at creditonecharlestonopen.com or by calling (843) 856-7900. For additional information, please email tickets@charlestontennisllc.com. For more information on the Credit One Charleston Open, visit creditonecharlestonopen.com or call 843-856-7900.