WTA book club? Pegula, Badosa, Shnaider share their go-to reads

Playing on the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz requires incredibly long days, late nights and globetrotting from continent to continent.

And as exhausting and demanding as it is, it does lend itself to an ample amount of free time outside of practice and match play. 

That means plenty of social media scrolling, podcasting, card playing and reading.

At this week's WTA 500 Credit One Charleston Open, a few WTA players shared some of their go-to reads on the road.

Top seed and defending champion Jessica Pegula recently read Freida McFadden's The Housemaid -- not The Handmaid's Tale -- and tore through some Colleen Hoover novels. ("I went on a whole spree," she said.)

Paula Badosa prefers books about personal growth and development, and shouted out Rafael Santandreu's El arte de no amargarse la vida, which in English is called The Art of Not Ruining Your Life.

Diana Shnaider also chimed in with the fantasy-adventure novel The Lightning Thief, the first book in the Percy Jackson & the Olympians series.

Pegula's title defense begins on Wednesday, with a second-round match against Yulia Putintseva. She's also in the doubles draw, teaming with American Asia Muhammad. They're set to play Jennifer Brady -- Pegula's good pal and her Player's Box co-host -- and Erin Routliffe on Tuesday.

Shnaider, seeded seventh, will play her opening match on Tuesday night against American Katie Volynets.

Badosa, a former semifinalist here, had a successful start to the tournament on Tuesday with a 6-4, 6-3 win over American Kayla Day. She'll play 10th seed Maria Sakkari in the Round of 32 on Wednesday. 

Along with the Copa Colsanitas Colsubsidio in Bogota, Colombia, the Credit One Charleston Open is the first tournament of the Clay-Court swing. The tournament will run through April 5.