Looking at the stats behind the Volvo Car Open

This year would have marked the 20th anniversary of Charleston hosting the Volvo Car Open, which moved to Daniel Island from Hilton Head in 2001 and changed its name from the Family Circle Cup in 2015. Though we’ll be missing the action on the courts (it was canceled due to COVID-19 precautions), we crunched the numbers for what has been the largest women’s only tennis tournament in North America, traditionally attracting more than 90,000 spectators.

• 5 of the world’s top 10 ranked players were slated to compete in the tournament.

• In 1973, The Family Circle Cup was the first women’s tennis event to offer $100,000 in prize money. This year, there was a $848,000 purse up for grabs.

• 40 high-speed cameras, capable of generating more than 100,000 images per second, were installed on the two courts to provide electronic line calling.

• 1.68 million+ fans have walked through the Volvo Car Open gates on Daniel Island in the past 19 years.

• 300 local volunteers & 100 ball crew members were recruited by organizers to help ensure the tournament runs smoothly.

• 3 athletes who grew up in Charleston—Elizabeth Halbauer, Emma Navarro, and Shelby Rogers—have competed in the Volvo Car Open.

• 60 hours of play were to be broadcast on The Tennis Channel over 7 days to 20 million viewers in 140 countries.

• 8 The number of times tennis icon Chris Evert won the then Family Circle Cup, more than any other player; Serena Williams has won the trophy three times in Charleston.