Family Circle Cup

Family Circle Cup

Family Circle Cup, AVP Charleston Open, or Family Circle Tennis Center
161 Seven Farms Drive
Charleston, SC 29492
Main Number: (843) 856-7900
Toll Free Number: (800) 677-2293
Fax Number: (843) 849-5392

Title Sponsor - Family Circle Magazine
With a 76-year legacy, Family Circle’s mission is to provide a friendly forum for sharing real life solutions, ideas and advice for raising happy and healthy kids, creating a comfortable home, promoting everyday wellness, nurturing rewarding relationships and having fun. As the only family service magazine that represents the strong connection women have with their family, friends and community, Family Circle’s commitment to improving women’s lives goes beyond the pages of the magazine. Family Circle has been a proud sponsor of the Family Circle Cup since 1973, and as the longest running single title sponsor in women’s tennis, the magazine has continued to set the standard for other women’s professional sporting events.

History - A Shining Star in Women's Tennis
The early 70's were a period of uncertainty for women's tennis but at the same time it was also a time of hope for young women who had dreams of playing professional sports. They wanted their sport to grow and earn the recognition, equality and respect that their male counterparts were enjoying. The sport needed a company who believed in the future of women's tennis and was willing to take a chance on what many people at the time thought was a long shot. Family Circle magazine stepped up to the challenge and the rest as they say is history, and history in the making it was.

From a historical perspective, few tournaments can compare to the Family Circle Cup. Initially signing on to sponsor the event in 1973, Family Circle magazine holds the record in women's professional tennis as the longest running event sponsored by the same company. Family Circle was the first women's magazine to fully underwrite a professional women's sporting event. Since 1973, the Family Circle Cup has been a pioneer in women's professional sports creating milestones that over the years have directly influenced the popularity of women's professional tennis. It is a tournament rich in tradition that has been highlighted over the past 36 years with a number of outstanding accomplishments.

In 1973, it was the first women's tennis event to offer a $100,000 dollars in prize money. As the first Family Circle Cup champion, Rosie Casals received a check for $30,000, which was the largest prize money payout awarded to a woman that year. Even more remarkably, the Family Circle Cup was the first women’s event to be broadcast on network television in 1973. Players who participated in that first tournament still have fond memories of the significance of this occasion. Billie Jean King remarked that the final between Rosie Casals and Nancy Richey was not the best played match due to the nervousness of both players, but every player there that day knew that it was a historic day in women's sports. Millions of viewers became instant fans, and women's tennis was well on its way to the heights that the game has reached in present times. Today, the tournament receives four days of coverage on ESPN2, and is also broadcast on Eurosport to over 95 million homes in Europe.

In 2001, the Family Circle Cup made a bold move that will secure its success for the future. After 28 years in Hilton Head, the tournament moved to a new home in Charleston, South Carolina. This partnership between the City of Charleston and Family Circle magazine is the first of its kind in women's tennis. Family Circle magazine is the first title sponsor to partner with city and county municipalities to build a tennis facility of this stature. This state-of-the-art facility not only serves as the home for one of the Premier Events on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour, but also provides residents of greater Charleston access to one of the finest tennis facilities in the southeast.

Every spring, the City of Charleston and Daniel Island serves as a backdrop to one of the richest and most traditional events in women's professional tennis. The Family Circle Cup, one of twenty Premier Events on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour, has a roster of past champions that include some of the biggest names in the history of women's tennis including Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova, Tracy Austin, Steffi Graf, Gabriela Sabatini, Martina Hingis, Jennifer Capriati, Venus Williams, Justine Henin, and Serena Williams.

As one of the hottest tickets in professional sports, the Family Circle Cup is more than just a tennis tournament it’s a festival with some world-class tennis thrown in. During the week, fans are entertained with a variety of activities aimed at making their week on Daniel Island a memorable one. It’s an action packed nine days filled with high-level tennis and a host of other activities that have been created for all age groups from children to senior citizens.

The Family Circle Cup, one of the most traditional events in women's tennis, will continue to cement itself as an annual institution in Charleston, a city that is truly one of America's most historic treasures.

The Family Circle Cup boasts a prize money purse of $1 million. Over fifty players compete for a piece of that purse each year and battle for one of the most coveted trophies in women’s tennis - when that is at stake, it is all business on the court.

Where most sporting events settle for status quo, the Cup continues to strive for excellence. The future of women's professional tennis is as bright as ever, and the Family Circle Cup will continue to be its shining star.