March 3, 2016
CHARLESTON, S.C. -After competing in Women’s Tennis Association competition this week, Frances Altick walks away from the SHAPE Magazine Invitational a champion with the opportunity to play in her first WTA event, the Volvo Car Open.
“I’m really excited, I don’t think it’s really sunk in yet,” said Altick. “It still feel really weird. I was looking at the list of names of who is playing in the tournament and it just blows my mind that I could be playing one of them.”
The WTA Volvo Car Open, formerly known as the Family Circle Cup, is the largest women’s-only tournament in the world. The weeklong event dates back to 1973 and takes place April 4-10 on Daniel Island in Charleston, S.C.
Previous winners of this prestigious event include Serena Williams, Venus Williams, Tracy Austin, Steffi Graf and eight-time champion Chris Evert.
Getting to the SHAPE Magazine Invite finals was no easy feat as Altick faced a blue-chip UVA signee in Chloe Gullickson, Duke’s Beatrice Capra and former UGA Bulldog Lauren Herring.
The experienced senior blew past Gullickson in round one, 6-1, 6-4, but fell to Capra after two tiebreakers, 6-1, 6-7(4), 1-0(6). While the Blue Devil came out victorious, she sprained her ankle and was no longer able to compete in tournament play.
With the unfortunate injury Altick took Capra’s place in semifinals, taking down Herring, a five-time All-American, to earn her spot in the tournament finale.
“You know I got in… luckily. I did not play well, so I was really happy to have a second chance and really motivated to play the best I could. Usually I would have been nervous to play Lauren (Herring) because she did so well in college, but I felt less pressure, and I played looser because this was my second chance and because I was just lucky to play.”
Altick, a senior who leads the Commodores in the Oracle/ITA rankings at No. 16, defeated Duke freshman Kaitlyn McCarthy (No. 28) in the Shape Magazine Invitational singles final in straight sets; 6-2, 6-4.
“I was a little more nervous, because I knew if I won yesterday that I at least had a wildcard into qualifying. But I woke up this morning and I knew that Astra (Sharma) beat her a few weeks ago, so it was doable. I was more nervous from this morning on, because I knew I could do it, but I just wanted to play the best I could to give myself a shot.”
“In the last game I as serving up 5-4 in the second set, and my heart was racing because I knew I had a chance. At match point I bounced the ball like 50 times because I was trying to take my time and not rush… it paid off and I was so relieved.”
