Readers share their vivid memories from the Family Circle Cup
Editor’s Note: By the time you read this edition of the paper, the Volvo Car Open will be over. The street will be open, the grounds packed up, and our first memories of the newly named tournament will be fresh in our mind. Last week we interviewed fans, residents, tournament staff and tournament volunteers and they shared their memories from the Family Circle Cup, in a throwback tribute to one of the longest standing names in tennis sponsorships. The tournament, with a new name, brought many of the same great tournament happenings, along with a host of new and improved offerings. While I personally love the tournaments, the excitement it brings, and the change of pace, not everyone agrees. But we sure did make memories. Below are some memories from the Family Circle Cup that our readers shared via survey.
The survey says:
“I was a volunteer a week before the tournament started in 2001. I was unpacking merchandise in the pro shop while they were still building the counters. Outside they were laying bricks, planting grass and trees and it never looked like it would be ready for opening day. All the newly hired pros were working from 6am until midnight, my son-in-law being one of them. Amazingly, everything was perfect by the deadline. My son-in-law, Mike Baker, was chosen to be the hitting partner all week for the eventual winner, Jennifer Capriati. So many great memories. I haven’t missed a tournament nor hardly a day of it since the opening.”
“My vivid memory was the first year taking my young daughters and them sitting on the grass next to the practice courts. When the players and their coaches came off the court my daughters and their friends asked the coaches for their autographs too!”
“When Serena Williams and I were walking side by side down the side walk…I realized how hopeless her smaller female opponents must feel when they have to play her.”
“Several friends from the local Ashborough East tennis team in Summerville attend the tournament every year. One year, we attended a luncheon with a great motivational speaker, Andrea Petkovic, and enjoyed a delicious lunch, sipped wine, and we each received new pink Wilson rackets signed by the luncheon speaker. After the lunch, we watched Serena play an early afternoon match (her father and his son were on the sidelines).”
“Six years ago while living in DC, we already knew we were moving to Charleston when a number of my tennis-playing friends and I decided to come here for the tournament. We knew very little about Daniel Island but I decided to contact a realtor and have him show me property on DI in between coming and going from the matches. Not only did I fall in love with Daniel Island, but so did my friends! We all got into house-hunting and while I discussed details with the (very patient) realtor, the girls discussed where I ought to place my furniture! A few months later my husband and I found our home on Daniel Island and some of the same friends have visited again and again. Before long I fully expect they too, will be house-hunting here!”
“My most vivid memory is each year when the tournament is finally over and life can return to normal. You know, less traffic, getting stopped every time you pull into Publix, streets open…you know, normal.”