Top Tennis Town - Charleston, SC

Charleston now Top 3 in Best Tennis Town Contest!


Charlestonians and Sea Island residents and visiting guests that love Charleston are excited that -The USTA announced that Charleston, SC has been selected as a Top 3 finalist in their second annual “Best Tennis Town in America” contest. Representatives from the Lowcountry tennis community were notified today of this honor, and will be present at the public unveiling of the “Best Tennis Town” winner at the US Open.

The US Open is a Grand Slam Event, which will be held from August 30 through September 12 at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York City. In addition to the title of “Best Tennis Town in America”, the Grand Prize winner will receive a $100,000 grant, second place will receive $50,000, and third place will receive $25,000, with each grant mandated for community tennis development.
The USTA’s “Best Tennis Town in America” contest began in late May when a collaborative tennis committee from the Lowcountry area submitted a video describing the tennis attributes of their respective areas. In total, 82 cities entered the contest, and Charleston was notified by the USTA of its Top 10 status on July 15th, and then began to aggressively market itself and solicit votes from across the country and around the world.

“The USTA is excited to see the passion and commitment to tennis that these towns have showcased through the ‘Best Tennis Town’ competition,” said Kurt Kamperman, Chief Executive, Community Tennis, USTA. “All three finalists are great ambassadors for the sport and would be a worthy recipient of the title of ‘Best Tennis Town.”
The Charleston committee made strong use of social media, e-newsletters, tennis and resort industry contacts, local and regional media outlets, as well as word-of-mouth marketing. Since Charleston was the only city in the Top 10 with a professional women’s tennis event, the Family Circle Cup and Sony Ericsson WTA Tour were also instrumental in promoting Charleston during the voting process. Votes were cast throughout a 10-day window spanning July 16th - 26th at www.BestTennisTown.com. Voting tallies will remain undisclosed by the USTA, both throughout and after the contest.

“I want to congratulate all of the local tennis entities who collaborated in the effort to bring this accolade to the Lowcountry,” said Joseph P. Riley, Mayor, City of Charleston. “Placing in the Top 10, and now the Top 3, has been a major victory in itself, bringing national attention and immense pride to Charleston.”

“This contest has really shown the cohesiveness of the Lowcountry tennis community,” commented Billy Swails, Mayor, Town of Mount Pleasant. “Looking back over the many years I’ve spent in the Charleston area, I’ve never seen such a unified and collaborative team come together to benefit the sport of tennis.”

The Charleston community put 100% of its support behind this initiative,” noted Bob Moran, General Manager, Family Circle Tennis Center. “Our Top 3 status is a direct result of a complete and comprehensive effort by countless entities who truly believe that Charleston is the Best Tennis Town in America. The Family Circle Cup is proud to be located here, and our fans and players alike attend this event because of what this city has to offer.”

“Congratulations to Charleston for advancing to the Top 3 in the USTA’s Best Tennis Town competition,” said Samantha Stosur, 2010 Family Circle Cup Champion. “Charleston certainly felt like the Best Tennis Town in America when I won the title in April, and it’s definitely one of my favorite events on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour because the city is so beautiful, and the fans are very knowledgeable and supportive of the sport.”

Charleston was named as one of the nation’s top-10 best cities for strong infrastructure, attractive economy and savvy urban planning last year by Forbes Magazine, the city has more than 13,000 local players who take to the courts every year, including more than 7,500 who play USTA League tennis. In addition, the city houses more than 580 tennis courts within its 485 square mile radius, and is home to the annual Family Circle Cup, a Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Premier Event.

For we amateur players it is important to note that Tennis is a sport that requires a solid foundation of strength, power, speed, agility, flexibility and balance. All of these areas need to be trained in some form during a training week. Structuring a weekly schedule to ensure that all these components are appropriately trained can be challenging. It is recommended that players consult a certified strength and conditioning specialist who has experience training tennis players and will go through extensive training in planning and implementing programs to maximize performance