CHARLESTON, SC, USA - With its beautiful, southern surroundings, it is no wonder that visiting Charleston evokes the creative side of many Sony Ericsson WTA Tour stars who make their way to the Family Circle Cup. One of those inspired players is Australia's Bryanne Stewart, also a keen writer, who last week shared her experiences.
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Saturday, April 15, 2006
One thing I love about travel is all the experiences, and this week in Charleston I got amongst the action behind the scenes in the media tent. Actually I became a fixture on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour media desk, spending most of my free time posing as part of the media crew.
I was continually entertained by the constant back and forth banter between the journalists, photographers and other multimedia types and had to keep some of them in line in order to get any of my work done.
I received a warm welcome in the makeshift media tent and was even invited to play in their annual tennis round robin on Saturday afternoon. At least I can say I won a couple of matches in Charleston, even if they were only against the struggling media crew, however I was surprised at how good the Tour staff were. Although they were scoring they didn't record the results, which didn't appeal to my competitive side, and the prizes I was eyeing went into a raffle in which my name was not read out.
The media's week wrapped up with an Easter morning brunch, which wasn't as healthy as what's on offer in the player lounge, but I joined the gang in this bonding session. I don't want to look like a snob in my first week. It was followed by another raffle and once again I didn't win a thing. I sadly missed Easter morning at home with my family but more importantly the Australian Easter Bunny must have gotten lost on the way to Charleston as there were no yummy Cadbury eggs waiting for me when I woke.
On Saturday night I jumped on the Tour bandwagon and joined them at one of Charleston's dining hot spots, enjoying the famous Charleston seafood and keeping up to date with the media gossip. After dinner, one of the Tour local residents proudly showed off the impressive 360 degree view of his beautiful city from the rooftop of one of his favorite bars.
I am looking forward to joining my new friends in the many media centers around the globe and will now be requesting media credentials at all the tournaments to continue my blog.
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Friday, April 14, 2006
Today I got to see what life is like as a mascot when I dressed up as a huge tennis ball (Family Circle Cup mascot, "Ace"). I even snuck into the player lounge undiscovered to spy on what was going on and who was talking about who. A few players tried to guess my identity, but with no luck. Like the Disney mascots I was forbidden to speak so my Aussie accent couldn't give it away. The only hint they had was the jewelry on my hands, and I needed someone to hold that hand as my head was so big I couldn't see my feet, which makes walking a bit of an obstacle.
By the time I put the suit on I was its third owner for the day so it was a bit stinky. I refused to use the blue puffy gloves, as when I slide one hand in, it felt like I was in a boxer's glove after a sweaty fight. I only lasted about 30 minutes as the temperature was around 80 degrees, and as they say, it's getting hot in here!
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Thursday, April 13, 2006
There was plenty of cake being cut this week in the player lounge. Firstly for Jennifer Russell, who is expecting her first child in September and was playing in her last professional tournament here at Charleston, which coincidentally is where she played in her first Sony Ericsson WTA Tour event. The tournament wanted to send Jen off in style so they organized a surprise baby shower in the player lounge on Tuesday afternoon.
Jen was scheduled to practice with her doubles partner Lisa McShea from 2 'til 3 on site, so it was Lisa's job to keep her occupied till all the balloons, cake, presents and friends were in position. When practice was over, Lisa escorted Jen back inside to the waiting crowd, and it was obvious by her reaction that she had no idea of the event and during her thank you speech she got a little teary eyed but overall held it together well.
Her gift basket included subscriptions to the Family Circle, Baby and Parenting magazines, baby blankets and cute little jumpsuits. Some of the players also enjoyed the excuse to hit Baby Gap and other baby stores in town. The inscription on the cake said "Congratulations Jen from all your future baby sitters"! We're all hoping Jen will drop in on some of the tournaments when the baby is born so we can practice our baby sitting skills for after our tennis careers!
The next cake came out on Thursday in honor of Meghann Shaughnessy's 27th birthday. Everyone that was finishing up lunch belted out Happy Birthday with their mouths half full! Of course none of the players ate any of the calorie-packed chocolate cake. Haha.
Even though Charleston is a Tier I event and there is a lot of prize money offered, most players put this tournament on their schedule to pick up the daily gifts from the player services desk. I was very excited to return, as last year when Samantha Stosur and I made the quarterfinals I nearly completed the collection of the classic Black Kate Spade handbags and accessories like the cute little pencil case and matching pencils or the handy mini backpack.
This year has been no exception. Monday started off with a Family Circle red fleece vest, Tuesday was a Hobo leather wallet, Wednesday Hobo leather clutch purse, Thursday was Lacoste sunnies and Friday a Hobo shoulder bag. The weekend pressies are always the most sought after as only a few players remain so the sponsors splurge for the last two days. My goodie bag is slighty empty this year after losing on Monday so I have been green with jealousy every morning I go into the player lounge. Maybe I can sneak a few of the leftovers?
