
The WTA Tour's in Charleston this week for the prestigious Family Circle Cup. I say "restigious" because it's just one of those tour stops that you seem to have grown up with or can't ever imagine not being around.
Anyway, pardon my nostalgic leanings there!
The field, as always, packs a lot of star power and perhaps no bigger names than Venus and Serena Williams; landing both of them is always a boon for a tournament.
What's most intriguing, though, is the way they're playing heading in. Venus got herself back in the top 100 with a strong run to the quarterfinals in Miami. It looks like that providing her health up, she can go even higher up the standings. What might be shocking about Serena in Miami is the fact that she didn't win as that's usually her spot to bag titles. Still, a quarterfinal run in her first event in more than a month isn't that bad a result.
Now comes the clay-court stretch. I think it gets overlooked somewhat, considering all the Wimbledon and U.S. Open titles between them, but they're quite good on the dirt. Actually, that's really understating it: Serena's a former French champ and Venus has won her share of big titles on the clay.
They both say they're extra-motivated right now. Provided their health holds up, there's the potential to do some real damage. And maybe that will see them get even higher in the rankings.
(Photo: The Associated Press)