Credit One Charleston Open – Day 9

Every spring, it’s an absolute honor to be invited back as the official photographer of the Credit One Charleston Open!

Since 1973, the Charleston Open has been a pioneer in women’s professional sports, creating milestones that have directly influenced the popularity of women’s professional tennis. It was the first women’s tennis event to offer $100,000 in prize money. The tournament was the first women’s event to be broadcast on network television. More recently, the Credit One Charleston Open was named WTA 500 Tournament of the Year. Kicking off the clay season, it’s grown to be the largest women’s professional tennis tournament in North America.

Day 9 is finally hear!!! After 9 grueling 12+ hour days of constant shooting, editing, and uploading photos for the tournament, we have completed Finals Sunday. When I arrived that morning, I could feel the excitement in the air. All the staff and volunteers were exhausted, in a good way, and ready to see who the new champion would be. Caroline Collins fought hard to triumph over Daria Kasatkina. It was the first time a player had won back-to-back Miami Open and Charleston Open titles since Serena Williams. Collins, who is retiring at the end of this year said: “I’ve been so happy to be playing at the level that I’ve been playing [and] to be able to back it up two weeks in a row has just been fantastic.”.

Credit One Charleston Open – Day 8

Every spring, it’s an absolute honor to be invited back as the official photographer of the Credit One Charleston Open!

Since 1973, the Charleston Open has been a pioneer in women’s professional sports, creating milestones that have directly influenced the popularity of women’s professional tennis. It was the first women’s tennis event to offer $100,000 in prize money. The tournament was the first women’s event to be broadcast on network television. More recently, the Credit One Charleston Open was named WTA 500 Tournament of the Year. Kicking off the clay season, it’s grown to be the largest women’s professional tennis tournament in North America.

Day 8 was Semi-final Saturday!!! At this stage, the players are turning up their games and leaving it all out on the court. Plus the stadium was packed! So everyone who attended the semi-finals was treated to quite a spectacle. If that wasn’t enough, I got to photograph a VIP Q&A session with Tournament Ambassadors Tracy Austin, John Isner, and Alison Riske-Amritraj. Tomorrow we’ll see who will be crowned our new Champion!!!

Credit One Charleston Open – Day 7

Every spring, it’s an absolute honor to be invited back as the official photographer of the Credit One Charleston Open!

Since 1973, the Charleston Open has been a pioneer in women’s professional sports, creating milestones that have directly influenced the popularity of women’s professional tennis. It was the first women’s tennis event to offer $100,000 in prize money. The tournament was the first women’s event to be broadcast on network television. More recently, the Credit One Charleston Open was named WTA 500 Tournament of the Year. Kicking off the clay season, it’s grown to be the largest women’s professional tennis tournament in North America.

Day 7 found us getting down to the final stages of this amazing tournament! As a photographer, I enjoy this part of the week because I have fewer matches to cover, which means I can spend more time focusing on each player, and getting a wider variety of shots. One of these athletes will become our champion! Stay tuned to find out who it will be…

Credit One Charleston Open – Day 6

Every spring, it’s an absolute honor to be invited back as the official photographer of the Credit One Charleston Open!

Since 1973, the Charleston Open has been a pioneer in women’s professional sports, creating milestones that have directly influenced the popularity of women’s professional tennis. It was the first women’s tennis event to offer $100,000 in prize money. The tournament was the first women’s event to be broadcast on network television. More recently, the Credit One Charleston Open was named WTA 500 Tournament of the Year. Kicking off the clay season, it’s grown to be the largest women’s professional tennis tournament in North America.

Day 6 saw the sunshine come back for a BEAUTIFUL day of tennis! Many of the players had to play twice in one day, due to the rain delays from the day before. So there was a ton of tennis action to cover!!! Plus we had the friendly Media Pickleball Tournament, more appearances at the Tennis Channel desk, the Volunteer of the Year Award, and the Dunlop “Glow Night”. What a fun day!

Credit One Charleston Open – Day 5

Every spring, it’s an absolute honor to be invited back as the official photographer of the Credit One Charleston Open!

Since 1973, the Charleston Open has been a pioneer in women’s professional sports, creating milestones that have directly influenced the popularity of women’s professional tennis. It was the first women’s tennis event to offer $100,000 in prize money. The tournament was the first women’s event to be broadcast on network television. More recently, the Credit One Charleston Open was named WTA 500 Tournament of the Year. Kicking off the clay season, it’s grown to be the largest women’s professional tennis tournament in North America.

Rain delays were the story of Day 5!!! We all showed up in the morning as scheduled, but the first match didn’t actually start until 5 PM. Luckily, there was plenty of editing to get caught up on. The only downside was, to keep the tournament on schedule, matches ran late into the night and I was there until after midnight. On the upside, once the matches did begin, they turned out to be EPIC!!!

Credit One Charleston Open – Day 4

Every spring, it’s an absolute honor to be invited back as the official photographer of the Credit One Charleston Open!

Since 1973, the Charleston Open has been a pioneer in women’s professional sports, creating milestones that have directly influenced the popularity of women’s professional tennis. It was the first women’s tennis event to offer $100,000 in prize money. The tournament was the first women’s event to be broadcast on network television. More recently, the Credit One Charleston Open was named WTA 500 Tournament of the Year. Kicking off the clay season, it’s grown to be the largest women’s professional tennis tournament in North America.

Day 4 was hot, sunny, and full of intense competition! Little did we know, our eventual champion would step foot on court that day. I also got a peek behind the curtain into the player’s private dining area, got to photograph some winners at the Tennis Channel desk, and captured a few more drone photos at sunset.

Credit One Charleston Open – Drone Photos

Every spring, it’s an absolute honor to be invited back as the official photographer of the Credit One Charleston Open!

Since 1973, the Charleston Open has been a pioneer in women’s professional sports, creating milestones that have directly influenced the popularity of women’s professional tennis. It was the first women’s tennis event to offer $100,000 in prize money. The tournament was the first women’s event to be broadcast on network television. More recently, the Credit One Charleston Open was named WTA 500 Tournament of the Year. Kicking off the clay season, it’s grown to be the largest women’s professional tennis tournament in North America.

During one of the tournament’s night sessions, we had a great crowd and nice colors in the sky. So I was tasked with getting some stadium shots with my drone. Obtaining proper authorization first, I launched the DJI Mavic 3 Pro just before sunset. Aside from this drone’s amazing image quality, I love how long the battery lasts! I was able to circle the stadium several times, capturing a variety of different angles, as well as the changing light throughout the evening. While the sun set behind the horizon and the skies transitioned to the deep blue colors of twilight, the players battled on!

Credit One Charleston Open – Day 3

Every spring, it’s an absolute honor to be invited back as the official photographer of the Credit One Charleston Open!

Since 1973, the Charleston Open has been a pioneer in women’s professional sports, creating milestones that have directly influenced the popularity of women’s professional tennis. It was the first women’s tennis event to offer $100,000 in prize money. The tournament was the first women’s event to be broadcast on network television. More recently, the Credit One Charleston Open was named WTA 500 Tournament of the Year. Kicking off the clay season, it’s grown to be the largest women’s professional tennis tournament in North America.

Day 3 of the tournament saw the action ramp up to full speed! We had tons of great matches, autograph sessions, social media influencers, and TV appearances. The highlight for me was covering my favorite player, Shelby Rogers, winning her first match as she begins her big comeback from injury. I had the absolute pleasure of photographing her proposal, engagement, and wedding last year!

Credit One Charleston Open – Media Hour

Every spring, it’s an absolute honor to be invited back as the official photographer of the Credit One Charleston Open!

Since 1973, the Charleston Open has been a pioneer in women’s professional sports, creating milestones that have directly influenced the popularity of women’s professional tennis. It was the first women’s tennis event to offer $100,000 in prize money. The tournament was the first women’s event to be broadcast on network television. More recently, the Credit One Charleston Open was named WTA 500 Tournament of the Year. Kicking off the clay season, it’s grown to be the largest women’s professional tennis tournament in North America.

One of the main events on Day 3 of the tournament is Media Hour. This is when mainstream media, photographers, and press are granted unfettered access to the top seeds of the tournament. The players are asked questions for upcoming news articles, interviewed for TV broadcasts, photographed for various media outlets, and have a chance to autograph tournament memorabilia. This year’s participants included Jessica Pegula, Maria Sakkari, Ons Jabeur, Emma Navaro, Beatriz Haddad Maia, Madison Keys, Elina Svitolina, and Victoria Azarenka.

Credit One Charleston Open – Player Party

Every spring, it’s an absolute honor to be invited back as the official photographer of the Credit One Charleston Open!

Since 1973, the Charleston Open has been a pioneer in women’s professional sports, creating milestones that have directly influenced the popularity of women’s professional tennis. It was the first women’s tennis event to offer $100,000 in prize money. The tournament was the first women’s event to be broadcast on network television. More recently, the Credit One Charleston Open was named WTA 500 Tournament of the Year. Kicking off the clay season, it’s grown to be the largest women’s professional tennis tournament in North America.

After Qualifying Rounds are completed on Day 2, and before the Main Draw of the tournament begins, all the players, coaches, and VIPs get together for the Player Party. It’s sort of the tournament’s way of welcoming the players to Charleston! This year’s party was held at The Peacock (formerly The Habit), right across from the Customs House in downtown Charleston. I got to photograph all the purple carpet runway-shots as players and guests arrived. What a fun night!!!

Credit One Charleston Open – Day 2

Every spring, it’s an absolute honor to be invited back as the official photographer of the Credit One Charleston Open!

Since 1973, the Charleston Open has been a pioneer in women’s professional sports, creating milestones that have directly influenced the popularity of women’s professional tennis. It was the first women’s tennis event to offer $100,000 in prize money. The tournament was the first women’s event to be broadcast on network television. More recently, the Credit One Charleston Open was named WTA 500 Tournament of the Year. Kicking off the clay season, it’s grown to be the largest women’s professional tennis tournament in North America.

Day 2 of the tournament found me covering tons of action! The first two days are known as Qualifying Rounds. These are players who aren’t high enough in the rankings to make the Main Draw of the tournament, and have to “play their way in”. The winners from the “Qualies” move into the Main Draw on Day 3. Plus it was Family Weekend, which means I got to photograph lots of player appearances like Caroline Wozniaki at Talking Tennis on the grand lawn, Sloan Stephens signing autographs and posing for photos with her fans, Jessie Pegula promoting her new line of cosmetics and interacting with her fans, etc.

Credit One Charleston Open – Iconic Photo Shoot

Every spring, it’s an absolute honor to be invited back as the official photographer of the Credit One Charleston Open!

Since 1973, the Charleston Open has been a pioneer in women’s professional sports, creating milestones that have directly influenced the popularity of women’s professional tennis. It was the first women’s tennis event to offer $100,000 in prize money. The tournament was the first women’s event to be broadcast on network television. More recently, the Credit One Charleston Open was named WTA 500 Tournament of the Year. Kicking off the clay season, it’s grown to be the largest women’s professional tennis tournament in North America.

Early on Day 2 of the tournament I got to capture the tournament’s Iconic Photo Shoot. This is a tradition every year where two top players are chosen to join me and the video team at an iconic location, indicative of our beautiful city and the lowcountry area, for a private photo session. This year the players selected were 2023 Guadalajara Open Champion, Maria Sakkari (Greece) and 2021 Monterrey Open Champion, Leylah Fernandez (Canada). The location for this year’s shoot was Shem Creek Pier. Both Maria and Leylah were fun, friendly, and wonderful to work with!