Choose Charleston

Well, one is, anyway.

Maria Sharapova, who just regained the world’s No. 1 ranking, has signed on for the Family Circle Cup tennis tournament. The 35th annual Family Circle Cup will be held April 7-15 on Daniel Island. The last time Sharapova played in this tournament was in 2003, when she won two qualifying matches to make the main draw and then lost in the first round.

According to the Post and Courier, that gives the Family Circle Cup five of the top six players in the world and four current or former No. 1 players. This includes No. 2 Justine Henin-Hardenne, No. 3 Amelie Mauresmo, No. 5 Svetlana Kuznetsova and No. 6 Martina Hingis. Only Kuznetsova has never held the top spot.

The Family Circle Cup was the first women’s professional tennis event to offer $100,000 in prize money and the first to be televised on national network TV. In 2001, the tournament moved to Charleston from Sea Pines Resort on Hilton Head, where it had a 28 year run. This year’s purse is $1,340,000.