Activities you can enjoy at the Credit One Charleston Open

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD)- Away from the tennis courts of the Credit One Charleston Open there are plenty of activities to keep spectators occupied.

One of the main attractions is the United States Tennis Association’s Play Tennis! Fan Zone where participants can test their tennis skills.

Every day at the competition the whole family can partake in drills like Speed of Serve, Be the Ball virtual tennis court maze, a Multi Ball Tennis Simulator, the Ball Kid Challenge and the Knock Em Down Challenge.

“They need to stand in the right position and try to hit the ball and hit the wall,” said Bonnie Hannon, who works at the Speed of Serve challenge.

Hannon says that if you enjoy the challenges and want to learn the basics of tennis then lessons are the next step.

The highest score from the week was above 100 miles per hour which is on par with the speed that professional players can serve.

“Monday and Tuesday we had some high score at about 118 miles per hour so that was pretty impressive and it was the same guy. He was on a tennis team from Georgia,” said Hannon.

Over at the Knock Em Down Challenge, Jerry Price is helping people knock down huge tennis balls placed on podiums with a racquet and ball. He says that watching people smile when they try tennis for the first time is an everyday joy.

“Honestly I think it’s as simple as seeing them light up when they hit a tennis ball. Maybe sounds overly simple, but that was my experience. Here I am grown up with it and I’m getting the opportunity and privilege to work in it,” said Price.