Charleston Exhibition Tournament Begins Tuesday on Tennis Channel

One of the most storied venues in women's professional tennis takes center stage this week as 16 WTA stars are set to return to the courts. 

The Credit One Bank Invitational, a unique team exhibition event, begins on Tuesday at the Family Circle Tennis Center on Daniel Island in Charleston, S.C., home of the Volvo Car Open. Headlined by Grand Slam champions Sofia Kenin, Sloane Stephens and Victoria Azarenka, Madison Keys and Bethanie Mattek-Sands will captain the squads in the competition, which runs through Sunday. 

The event will be the second such exhibition tournament to take place on U.S. soil since the professional tennis tours were officially suspended in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic, following the lead of the UTR Pro Match Series in Florida in late May.

“I can’t think of a better way to start up tennis again than at the Credit One Bank Invitational," Mattek-Sands said last month, when the event was announced. "The uncharted waters that we are currently facing calls for something completely fresh and new. It’s an absolute honor to be selected as one of the captains for this team event.

"We will fill the sporting world with hope again and show our gratitude and appreciation for all essential workers around the world, and especially in Charleston.”

Keys and Mattek-Sands drafted players to their teams, aptly called Team Kindness and Team Peace, on Monday night live on Tennis Channel. Keys' team will consist of Azarenka, Stephens, Amanda Anisimova, Alison Riske, Monica Puig, Charleston native Shelby Rogers and Canadian teenager Leylah Annie Fernandez.

Mattek-Sands' team will be headlined by reigning Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin, as the two reunite for the first time since clinching Team USA's 3-2 win over Latvia in the Fed Cup Qualifier in February. Jennifer Brady, Eugenie Bouchard, Caroline Dolehide, Danielle Collins, Ajla Tomljanovic and former French Open junior finalist Emma Navarro round out the team.

The event will be played in close partnership with local health officials from the Medical University of South Carolina. No fans or media have been permitted on site at Daniel Island; players will call their own lines with the assistance of a solo chair umpire and handle their own towels; and two ball crew members will wear gloves and use equipment to avoid handling the tennis balls. To further enforce social distancing guidelines, each competitor will have her own lounge around the stadium, where she can cheer on her teammates.

Protocols also include on-site testing, daily temperature tests and health questionnaires, the sanitizing of equipment and mandatory face masks for all personnel. 

The two teams will play in a team format over the next six days, which consists of 16 singles matches and eight doubles matches, with each victory offering points to the winning side. All matches will be played as best-of-three sets with a 10-point match tiebreak in lieu of a full third set, and no-ad scoring in doubles. 

In a similar format to the ATP Laver Cup tournament, the point value will increase over the span of the competition. Each victory on Tuesday and Wednesday will be worth one point, doubling to two on Thursday and Friday and concluding at three on Saturday and Sunday. 

Tennis Channel will provide over 40 hours of live coverage of the unique event beginning at 4 p.m. ET daily. For more information, click here.