Eugenie Bouchard and Sloane Stephens have announced that they will play at the Volvo Cars Open in Charleston. The Volvo Cars Open is the first tournament in the month of April and signals the official beginning of the clay season. It will take place during the week of April 4, taking place simultaneously as the Katowice Open in Poland.
Bouchard Becoming a Regular In Charleston
2016 will mark the fourth consecutive appearance for the Canadian on the green clay of Charleston, South Carolina. She made her debut in 2013, qualifying for the main draw. She made it all the way to the quarterfinals, knocking off 16th-seeded Laura Robson and 3rd-seeded Samantha Stosur before falling to ninth-seeded Jelena Jankovic.
2014 was the Canadian’s best showing, making the semifinals, as she was able to exact revenge on Jankovic and even defeated Venus Williams before crashing out to Andrea Petkovic. Last year, the former Wimbledon finalist was upset by American Lauren Davis in her first match.
Stephens Also a Regular In Charleston But Has Not Performed Well
This year will mark Stephens’ sixth consecutive year in Charleston. Unlike Bouchard, who has made a semifinal and a quarterfinal, the green clay has brought nothing but bad times for the American. Similarly to Bouchard, she qualified for the main draw in her first time in Charleston but was defeated Peng Shuai in her opening match.
In six years, the former Australian Open semifinalist has picked up only one main draw win. That win came last year in the opening round, defeating compatriot Bethanie Mattek-Sands in three after she trailed. Stephens has lost in her opening match in Charleston on four of five occasions.
Well-Represented For First Clay Event of the Season
The Volvo Car Open has quite the field to kick off the clay season. Other entrants are defending champion and current Australian Open champion Angelique Kerber as well as 2014 champion Andrea Petkovic. Swiss teen sensation Belinda Bencic is currently the youngest player in the field while Venus Williams is the elder statesman as the eldest player in the current field. Other former finalists include: Sabine Lisicki (2009 champion), Samantha Stosur (2010 champion), Lucie Safarova (2012 runner-up), Madison Keys (2015 runner-up)