When Rosie Casals faced Nancy Richey in the finals of the first Family Circle Cup in 1973 on Hilton Head Island, there was something different in the air.
Tennis legend Billie Jean King, beaten by Casals in the semifinals at the Sea Pines Racquet Club that year, said the players “knew it was a historic day in women’s sports.”
The New York Times described the winner’s check of $30,000 — that’s nearly $230,000 in today’s dollars — as “the biggest single prize in women’s professional sport.”
It was a milestone event not only in women’s tennis, but in women’s sports.
“We were on television, and in ‘73 we had the first Family Circle Cup at Hilton Head Island,” Casals recalled in 2020. “And I won the tournament, making $30,000 as champion. I played Nancy Richey in the final, and it was the first time NBC televised women’s tennis on its own.
“It was a big deal.”
That first championship match established the tournament, which has evolved into the Credit One Charleston Open and the largest women’s only tennis tournament in North America, as a leader in women’s sports.
Tournament owner Ben Navarro announced earlier this year that the 2026 Charleston Open, set for this week on Daniel Island, would offer a record purse of $2.5 million, about twice as much as last year and nearly double the minimum for a WTA 500-level tournament.
That’s a legacy that Navarro and tournament director Bob Moran take seriously.
“It’s important to both Ben and myself, and we understand the legacy,” Moran said. “We take a lot of pride in who we’ve been and who we are. Everything we do has that in mind, and we really feel we’re responsible for continuing this legacy, and making sure we’re doing everything possible to improve upon something that’s been built over the last 50-plus years.”
Equal pay
Just as that first final lives on as an important milestone, so will the Charleston Open’s move toward equal pay for men and women in tennis in non-Grand Slam events.
The WTA has begun a multi-year plan to achieve equal prize money with the ATP by 2027 in combined 1000 and 500 level events, and by 2033 in single-week events like the Charleston Open.
“There’s a big discrepancy sometimes in the 500s and the 250s from the ATP to the WTA,” said 2025 Charleston champ Jessica Pegula. “Sometimes people don’t realize that because they know — the normal fan knows that Grand Slams are equal prize money, but they don’t know about all the other events, that there’s a big discrepancy.
“So to be able to kind of set the tone and be probably the first (500 tournament) to do that? It ’s huge. And I think when you’re setting that tone, that sets a trend for other tournaments to do the same. So that’s really, really cool.”
The increased purse will just about double the prize money for the champion — Pegula earned $164,000 for winning last year — and do the same for every level of the draw, said Moran, who measured player reaction while in Miami last week.
“Just talking to a couple of players, they know that this doesn’t just affect the winner,” he said. “It affects every player in the draw … So it’s doubling the check for every player when they’re here, and that’s significant, especially for the lower ranked players, simply because it’s tougher for them.
“They are grinding every day to make a life on tour, and it’s hard, it’s expensive. Global travel is expensive, so from what I’m hearing, the players are really excited.”
The move also is in keeping with the tournament’s legacy in women’s tennis and women’s sports overall, said former WTA Tour star Shelby Rogers of Charleston, who served as a ballkid at the Family Circle Cup.
“And they continue to push the bar, right?” said Rogers, who was ranked as high as No. 30 in the world before retiring in 2024. “I just think back on the beginning of my career, 16 years ago, and how far the prize money and accommodations and opportunities have come for players.
“I can’t imagine how Billie Jean King and those ladies feel seeing the progress of the sport and all of us collectively.”
Leading edge
Through the years as the Family Circle Cup, Volvo Car Open and Credit One Charleston Open, the tournament has been on the leading edge on many fronts.
At that 1973 tournament, the Family Circle Cup was the first women’s event to offer $100,000 in prize money and the first to be broadcast live on network television.
Through the years, important tennis figures such as Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova, Steffi Graf and Serena Williams have played in the tournament, and won it, multiple times.
Under the leadership of Navarro and Moran, the Charleston Open has been named the WTA 500 tournament of the year four years in a row, leading the way in player and fan experience.
And just last year, it was the first WTA Tour clay-court tournament to use Electronic Line Calling.
“I feel like we’ve always been at the forefront, no matter what it is,” Moran said. “Electronic line calling, video boards, how we produce the event. We’ve tried to be a leader on everything, be it technology or prize money, from all the way back to the beginning to today.
“So I think it’s a continuation of legacy. Making sure that, yes, we are respecting our legacy, but also making sure we’re doing everything we can to enhance it as we go.”
Credit One Charleston Open
When: March 28-April 5
Where: LTP Tennis Center, Daniel Island
Tickets: creditonecharlestonopen.com