The WTA Tour is heating up as we are about to witness the Madrid Open action in a few weeks. The stars of women’s tennis have experienced surprising results in the last few weeks, which only creates more excitement for the first clay Master’s championship of the year. The Charleston Open began clay in the 2024 season, which showed great results for Danielle Collins and Taylor Townsend.

While the Charleston Open is one of the first clay events of the year, it is played on green clay instead of the usual red clay. However, Collins and Townsend did not let it deter them as they went on to wreak havoc. 

Danielle Collins

Collins was the ultimate winner of the Charleston Open after achieving her dream victory in the Miami Open. She began the tournament with a fantastic win over Paula Badosa, 6-1, 6-4. She then faced the defending champion, Ons Jabeur, but managed to beat her 6-3, 1-6, 6-3, which was her only tough battle. Collins would go on to end the hopes of Sloane Stephens quickly, 6-2, 6-2, and then ousted Elise Mertens as well 6-3, 6-4. 

The semifinals set her up against Maria Sakkari, who hoped to catch a break and beat Collins to win a title. However, the American was in no mood for mercy as she demolished Sakkari 6-3, 6-3. In the final, Collins played against Daria Kasatkina, who was no challenge as she lost 6-2, 6-1 to the American player.

The win proved to be a great boost for Collins, who had already jumped up the table by many places after the Miami Open. Winning the Charleston Open helped Collins jump up 7 ranks, and she now rests at a comfortable 15, which is her best rank since February 2023. 

Taylor Townsend

Townsend stepped into the Charleston clay tournament after bad defeats in the Sunshine Doubles. Unfortunately for her, the Charleston Open did not fare much better. She met Sofia Kenin in the first round, and she managed to win 6-3, 6-3, setting herself up to face Ekaterina Alexandrova. Townsend faced a difficult challenge in the first set but found the energy to end Alexandrova’s run 7-5, 6-2. 

Townsend then played against Victoria Azarenka, who pushed her to the edge with a three-set battle, which ended 6-7, 6-3, 6-4. Although Townsend went home in the third round, she would go home with a fancy new ranking. She jumped 11 positions and managed to attain rank 57, which is her new career high in singles. 

The ranking table has seen major change as the WTA 1000 is about to move on to clay. Ons Jabeur dropping down to rank 9 from rank 6 is the major change seen in the top 10. After the Madrid Open, the shift is going to be even more wild.

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