2017 Volvo Car Open: Tournament Recap

The 2017 Volvo Car Open was full of everything a tennis fanatic could dream of – exhilarating tennis – filled with upsets and breakout stars, fan-friendly activities, food trucks and lots of opportunities to interact with your favorite players. The two finalists, rising teen superstars Daria Kasatkina and Jelena Ostapenko battled in the first all-teen final since 2009 in Linz with Russian player “Dasha” finally taking the crown—her first WTA title ever.

It was a breakthrough tournament for hometown sweetheart, Shelby Rogers. Out of her four previous appearances in Daniel Island, she had only taken home one win. All that changed this year when she upset top seed Madison Keys in the second round of the tournament. Rogers made it all the way to the quarterfinals after breezing by Naomi Osaka on Thursday night and represented her city with a shirt gifted to her by doubles standout, Bethanie Mattek-Sands, which read “Ms.Rogers Neighborhood.” Though Rogers was knocked out by veteran Mirjana Lucic-Baroni, the hometown crowd got a taste of what Rogers had to offer and couldn’t help but pour out their support for the local hotshot.

Rogers knocking out the top seed was not the only upset of the tournament. Laura Siegemund from Germany saved a few match points to squeak out a win against a big name with an even bigger serve – Venus Williams. Fanny Stollar, who reached the main draw via the Volvo Car Open’s qualifying rounds, stunned No. 4 seed Elena Vesnina, who had just snagged the biggest title of her career at Indian Wells weeks before making her way to Charleston.

Siegemund went on to defeat former finalist, Lucie Safarova, before losing to eventual champion Daria Kasaktina in the semifinals. Safarova made a hard run at the singles title, but paired together with doubles World No.1 Bethanie Mattek-Sands, proved to be unstoppable as the finalist pair from last year took home the trophy with an incredible win over Katerina Siniakova and Lucie Hradecka.

Mirjana Lucic-Baroni had her eyes on the prize as well, making it all the way to the semifinals—her third of the year, including her run at the Australian Open in January. At 35, the crowd could not help but rally behind her as she took on the heavy-hitting teenager, Ostapenko. Though she took a loss from the emotional Latvian player, Lucic-Baroni is once again playing at the top of her game.

This year’s partnership with the Tennis Channel was a notable step forward for the Volvo Car Open and all of its fans. Broadcasting the first ball hit to the last ball played, tennis fanatics everywhere had the opportunity to catch the upsets and victories throughout the tournament. The Tennis Channel set up shop at the entrance gatesand fans could catch winning players post-match chatting live with former champion Sloane Stephens and the rest of the Tennis Channel crew.