Charleston Open adds 3 to field for 2022

CHARLESTON, S.C. – The Credit One Charleston Open, the largest women’s-only tennis tournament in North America, announced Paula Badosa, Belinda Bencic and Leylah Fernandez will compete as part of its player field in 2022 as the tournament celebrates its 50th year, April 2 - 10, on Daniel Island in Charleston, South Carolina. Badosa captured her biggest career WTA title win in October at the BNP Paribas Open, Bencic earned an Olympic Gold Medal in singles and Olympic Silver Medal in doubles at this year’s Summer Olympics and Fernandez made a historic run in September at the US Open to compete in the first all-teen final since 1999.

The highly anticipated Credit One Charleston Open will feature more than 100 of the top tennis players in the world and welcome back fans for the first time since 2019. The newly renovated Credit One Stadium will also be unveiled during the upcoming event, offering upgraded seating options and elevated hospitality experiences for patrons on-site.

“These three players are the first announcements of what we expect to be one of our strongest fields ever,” said Bob Moran, Tournament Director of the Credit One Charleston Open. “All three players joined us in 2021 and are eager to come back to Charleston. We’re so proud of Belinda’s performance at the Olympics winning a gold medal for her country, while Leylah made an incredible run to the US Open final and Paula won her first major title at Indian Wells and qualified for the season ending WTA Finals. We can’t wait for all of our players to see our newly renovated facilities that were designed for them!”

Badosa has played the best tennis of her career in 2021. The 23-year-old Spainard, currently ranked World No. 10, captured her first two titles this year - in Belgrade and Indian Wells. She 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. She is currently contending in the 2021 Akron WTA Finals Guadalajara, which she qualified for for the first time. The 2022 Credit One Charleston Open will mark Badosa’s second time competing in Charleston where she holds a 4-1 record.

Bencic won Olympic gold and silver medals, in singles and doubles respectively, for Switzerland at the Tokyo Summer Olympics. Currently ranked World No. 23, she reached six quarterfinals in 2021, including the US Open, and was a finalist at the Adelaide International and Grass Court Championships Berlin. She holds four WTA titles and has played the Charleston Open five times, reaching the semifinals in her tournament debut in 2014 and quarterfinals in 2019, where she holds a 8-5 record.

Nineteen-year-old Fernandez made headlines this year as the runner-up at the US Open. She defeated three top-5 players en route to the final, including the defending champion Naomi Osaka. The World No. 24 player also won her first WTA title at the 2021 Monterrey Open, where she didn’t drop a single set the entire tournament. The Canadian competed in Charleston for the first time in 2021 and holds a 1-1 record.