Time for tennis license plate in S.C.

South Carolina has the premier women's-only tennis tournament in the nation. So why don't we have an official automobile license plate for tennis?

The state's tennis players and supporters should make S.C. tennis license plates their agenda. Florida already is headed in that direction. A law to create a new specialty license plate is on the desk of that state's governor and is expected to be signed into law.

The proceeds for the Florida tennis plate will be used for grants to operate youth tennis and other tennis programs in that state.

South Carolina has specialty license plates for just about everything else, including at least five for NASCAR alone, and others for golf, cycling and golf's Heritage Classic. How has the sport that gave the state its premier annual sporting event been overlooked?

Even Gov. Mark Sanford plays tennis, and his son is a good high school tennis player. It probably wouldn't take a big push to get a tennis license plate approved that promoted the state as "The Home of the Family Circle Cup." So, start the process moving toward the governor's office.

League of its own

The Charleston area, of course, is in a league of its own in state tennis in terms of participation. Just how big is tennis locally? We know that more than 3,200 adults participate in the Lowcountry Tennis Association's tennis leagues. And don't forget about the approximately 850 young players who play in city tennis coordinator Peggy Bohne's Tri-County Elementary/Middle School League, which was recently won by unbeaten Buist Academy.

Counting the high school players, juniors who don't play high school tennis and all of the other adults that aren't in any of those groups but are members of various tennis clubs, the number of serious tennis players in the area from the groups mentioned probably exceeds 5,000.

Serena closer to top

Serena Williams' challenge of returning to the No. 1 position in women's tennis got a lot easier on Thursday when Justine Henin decided to have her name removed from the world rankings. Instead of being more than 2,800 points from the top spot held by Henin, Serena is currently only 1,150 points behind Sharapova. And Sharapova will be the No. 1 player in the world on Monday morning when the next rankings are released.

It probably won't happen at the French Open, not even if Serena wins the tournament and Sharapova loses early. But watch out for Wimbledon. Serena and Sharapova could be coming to New York in a fierce battle for the No. 1 position.

Of course, it could depend on Serena's health, considering that she pulled out of a quarterfinal match in Rome on Friday because of a back injury.

But Henin's retirement potentially could create a summer filled with excitement in the women's tennis rankings.

Cremins raises funds

College of Charleston basketball coach Bobby Cremins has reported that the recent Cremins Tennis Challenge at Family Circle Tennis Center was "a huge success." The event raised $33,700 in support of the Cougar Club's scholarship funds for all athletics at C of C.

Reach James Beck at jdbeck@postandcourier.com or 937-5540.