Andreescu, Kenin lead 16-player team event set for June in Charleston

Sixteen WTA players, including the past two Grand Slam singles champions, will join forces to launch the Credit One Bank Invitational in Charleston, S.C. next month. The tournament will feature 16 singles matches and eight doubles contests and, as of now, is the largest-scale event confirmed since tennis reopened in late April.

Competitors will be divided among two teams for the event, which begins June 23 live on Tennis Channel and played without fans in attendance. Madison Keys and Bethanie Mattek-Sands will serve as captains, with 2019 US Open champion Bianca Andreescu and 2020 Australian Open winner Sofia Kenin headlining the available pool of players.

The event will make a significant donation to Medical University of South Carolina healthcare workers, who will be on hand to ensure “a secure environment for all players and staff through…health and safety protocols.”

"Charleston has proven time and again to be the poster child for resiliency—and in my mind, this special tournament will help accomplish three very critical things," said Ben Navarro, owner of Charleston Tennis LLC. "First, it is a tangible way to show the world we are able to bring back live sport for public enjoyment; Second, it allows our community and tennis fans all over to support the tennis professionals whose opportunities to compete this year have been severely limited; Third, it helps us show our frontline medical professionals how much we care, with half of the proceeds going directly to support MUSC."

Volvo Car Open Instagram

Former world No. 1 Victoria Azarenka, 2017 US Open champion Sloane Stephens and 2016 Olympic gold medalist Monica Puig also join the field that includes Americans Amanda Anisimova, Jennifer Brady, Danielle Collins, Emma Navarro, Alison Riske and Shelby Rogers, Canadians Eugenie Bouchard and Leylah Fernandez, and Australia’s Ajla Tomljanovic.

Charleston is a regular fixture on the WTA tour through its renowned Volvo Car Open. Founded in 1973, the tournament was due to celebrate its 20th anniversary in Charleston, but was one of the first to be canceled as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Ever since the unfortunate cancelation of this year’s Volvo Car Open due to the coronavirus, we have been working tirelessly to figure out how and when to appropriately bring a world class event back to Charleston as quickly and safely as possible,” said Bob Moran, President of Charleston Tennis LLC.