The WTA Volvo Car Open is the "largest women-only tennis tournament in the world," and keeping the event "relevant on the increasingly competitive WTA Tour is a full-time job," according to Jeff Hartsell of the Charleston POST & COURIER. Recruiting top players to a third-tier event in South Carolina is "not unlike the high-stakes recruiting world of college football and basketball." Volvo Car Open Tournament Dir Bob Moran said, "We're not a Grand Slam or Mandatory event. So we have to work a little harder. Our recruiting is year-round, and the players know that. We're not just recruiting players, we're recruiting agents and coaches, too." Hartsell noted the event's "investment in new talent, and Moran's keen eye for rising stars, has paid off in long-term relationships." Financially, Moran said that the tournament is "doing well." He added that "talks about an extension of Volvo's sponsorship are on-going." The original deal with Volvo announced in '15 was "good for three years with a two-year option." Moran said that the 10-year deal the tournament signed with Tennis Channel -- which took effect last year -- has "paid off in increased ticket sales this year." Moran: "Our ticket sales are trending nicely ahead of last year. I attribute that to the deal with Tennis Channel. We are seeing the trickle-down effects of that; I've seen more than 400 new ticket-buyers from outside the tri-county area." He added, "Tennis Channel brought us some 2 million viewers, where we have been stuck in a rut of 750,000 to 800,000. That's what we needed to do" (Charleston POST & COURIER, 4/2).
