Charleston is one of the few clay events in the world played on green Har-Tru rather than the red brick of Europe — a slower, lower-bouncing American variant that rewards patience and movement over heavy topspin. The tournament traces back to 1973, when it was founded as the Family Circle Cup, and it has run on the women's calendar ever since, relocating to Charleston, South Carolina, in 2001 after years on Hilton Head and Amelia Island. As a WTA 500, it anchors the brief North American clay window between the Sunshine Double at the Miami Open and the European red-clay swing that builds toward Roland-Garros.
What sets Charleston apart is the venue itself. The main stadium on Daniel Island is the largest tennis-specific arena in North America built for a women's event, and the green clay gives the draw a character no other stop shares — players who thrive on red dirt don't automatically transfer, and the surface has historically produced champions who grind and construct rather than overpower.
Recent history belongs to Jessica Pegula, who turned the event into her personal stronghold. After falling in a three-set final to Daria Kasatkina in 2024 — Kasatkina edging a final-set tiebreak — Pegula came back to win in 2025 over Sofia Kenin, then defended the title in 2026 with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Yuliia Starodubtseva. Ons Jabeur took the 2023 edition past Belinda Bencic, a reminder of how the green clay has rewarded variety and feel over the past decade.
Pegula's back-to-back titles make her the defining figure of Charleston's current era, and her 2026 defense leaves her as the standard the field has to chase the next time the green clay is rolled out.