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 With beautiful sights and gorgeous weather among its many charms, Charleston has always been a favorite stop for the stars of the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour, who come to the southern city to compete in one of the biggest tournaments on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour calendar, the Family Circle Cup.
"I love it here," said Bethanie Mattek-Sands, America's top-ranked player after the Williams sisters. "I'd come here even without the tournament. We went to King Street last night and it was really fun - there's lots of stuff to do, and the shopping is great. My husband is also big into history so he told me all of the places to see. The tournament is great - the site, the stadium and volunteers are so nice. The last few years they've definitely been spoiling me. All of those things put together makes it just awesome."
"It's such a nice tournament," Slovakia's Dominika Cibulkova said. "Before this year I had never made it too far here but this year I finally passed the first round and it has been a great week. I really like this tournament."
 "I just love coming back," Switzerland's Patty Schnyder said. "I really enjoy playing and practicing on Stadium court. The conditions are great - the speed of the court, the bounce of the ball. I have so many memories here, beating so many Top 5 and Top 10 players on these courts - Serena, Jennifer, Lindsay, Justine, Mary, Amelie, Elena... It has been great fun to play here all of these years."
"I always like coming back here," Russia's Vera Zvonareva said. "Of course, it's always a plus to play at a tournament where you've done well in the past. But the fans here are great, and it's the last tournament in the US until after Wimbledon, so it's nice. I always do lots of shopping here right before I go home!"
"This is a bright spot on the calendar for me," Venus Williams said. "I love playing in the US, and I'm always happy to be in Charleston. And of course, it's always great to go for a title, so I'm always excited to come here."
"It's very nice to be back here. Charleston has a very special atmosphere, it feels like home," Elena Dementieva said. "I know people who have worked here for so many years, so when I come back here, it's a place I know very well. It's always a pleasure to be here."
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