The Cincinnati Open is the last major stop before the last Major of the year. At the end of the tennis summer, which encompasses three different surfaces (clay, grass, and hardcourt) on two different continents (Europe and North America), the best male and female players in the world will reconvene for one final time in Ohio before the start of the US Open.
That makes Cincinnati one of the most important preparatory or “warm-up” tournaments in the sport, in addition to being one of the most historic.
A Brief History of the Cincinnati Open
Having started in 1899, the Cincinnati Open is the oldest tennis tournament in America that is still held in its original state. The US Open actually began nearly two decades earlier, in 1881, but it was originally held in Newport, Rhode Island, which subsequently became the home of the International Tennis Hall of Fame. The Cincinnati Open has moved around Ohio, but it has always remained in the same state – at least until now.
The first ever Cincinnati Open was held at Xavier University, a private Jesuit university that is one of the oldest universities in the USA, and, like the Canadian Open, the other big warm-up event before the US Open, the original surface was clay. Then, just like the Canadian Open, as the Cincinnati tournament moved venue, it also changed surface.
In 1903, it moved to the Cincinnati Tennis Club, where it was largely played until 1972. It then moved around Ohio several times, including once to an amusement park on the Ohio River, before settling in Mason, a small city about 20 miles north of Cincinnati, where it has remained ever since.
The most important change in the history of the Cincinnati Open came in 1979 when, exactly like the Canadian Open, it switched from clay to hardcourt. This was in the wake of the US Open’s own succession of surface shifts in the 1970s, from its original grass (from 1881 onwards) to clay (between 1975 and 1977) to the final choice of hardcourt in 1978.
Thus, from 1979 onwards, the two most important warm-up events before the US Open, Canada and Cincinnati, both also switched to hardcourt, to try and provide the best possible practice and preparation for players ahead of the US Open.
The 2025 Cincinnati Open
Having always been held in Ohio since its inception at the end of the 19th century, and having become an integral part of US Open preparations since the late 20th century, the Cincinnati Open now faces the threat of being relocated from its home state in the 21st century.
The prestige and prominence on the calendar that come from being the last major warm-up event before the US Open have meant that in recent years there have been rumours that the Cincinnati Open, like so many US sporting events and even sporting franchises (the most famous example being the LA Lakers basketball team, which began in Minneapolis), will be relocated to another city or even another state.
Those rumours only intensified after the tournament was bought in 2022 by Ben Navarro, a billionaire private investor, tennis obsessive, and father of top 10 player Emma Navarro. Since then, there have been persistent rumours that Ben Navarro will aim to move the Cincinnati Open to South Carolina, where he already owns and runs the Charleston Open, perhaps even merging the two tournaments into one but retaining Cincinnati’s plum place on the calendar.
However, for the time being, Cincinnati has grown in size, rather than being relocated or scaled back. Like all Masters 1000 and ATP 1000 events, from 2024 onward, it expanded in size, from having a 56-player field in both the men’s and women’s events to having a 96-player event in both. In turn, that has meant that the tournament has expanded from seven days to 12.
There has been great controversy about the expansion of Masters and ATP 1000 events into “mini-Majors” that have almost as many players and last almost as long as the four Grand Slam tournaments. However, such expansion has perhaps been most problematic for events in the North American summer hardcourt swing, including Cincinnati.
Above all, the expansion of the two Masters events in North America, Canada, and Cincinnati has caused scheduling problems, with Canada currently finishing midweek and Cincinnati (or at least its qualifying tournament) beginning before Canada has even concluded.
Furthermore, the expansion has hit player availability, with the three best male players in the world (regardless of actual ranking) – Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, and Novak Djokovic – all withdrawing from Canada, and Djokovic also withdrawing from Cincinnati for “non-medical” reasons.
In the long run, the scheduling issues caused by the expansion of Canada and Cincinnati and the subsequent impact on player availability could be even more serious for the two most important US Open warm-up events.
After the first week of Canada, which was marked by the conspicuous absence of star names, especially on the men’s side, David Law, the veteran BBC commentator and co-host of The Tennis Podcast, opined that Canada, for one, might never see the Wimbledon finalists appear again, which would obviously dramatically reduce the tournament’s appeal to fans and sponsors.
The Last Stop Before New York
For now, at least, the Cincinnati Open remains in Ohio and remains the last important tournament before the US Open. And it is that proximity to the last Major of the year that continues to give it an allure that even Canada lacks. Put simply, because Cincinnati takes place just a week or so before the start of the US Open, it is possible for a player to find form in Cincinnati, perhaps even winning it, and then to take that form into the US Open itself.
That has been evident throughout the nearly half-century that Cincinnati has been played on the same surface as the US Open, but it has been particularly noticeable in recent years. On the men’s side, the last two winners of the Cincinnati Open, Novak Djokovic and Jannik Sinner, have gone on to win the US Open, despite encountering significant obstacles along the way.
In 2023, Djokovic defeated Carlos Alcaraz in probably the greatest ever Cincinnati final 5–7 7–6(9–7) 7–6(7–4); and immediately after Sinner had defeated Frances Tiafoe in last year’s Cincinnati final, the news broke about his having failed two doping tests earlier in the year, which ultimately led to his three-month ban from the ATP Tour earlier this year.
On the women’s side, Aryna Sabalenka made it a “double double” in 2024, matching Sinner by winning both Cincinnati and the US Open (and beating the same opponent, Jessica Pegula, in both finals).
With so many of the big names who skipped Canada returning in Cincinnati, including the defending champions Sinner and Sabalenka, there is every chance that that pattern will continue this year, with Sinner looking to consolidate his recent mastery of hardcourt Majors (he has won the last three of them) and Sabalenka determined to retain her US Open crown after already losing two Major finals in 2025.
Like every other player in Cincinnati, they will be looking to regain their hardcourt form in Ohio before making one last assault on a Major title this year.
Main Photo Credit: Susan Mullane – USA TODAY Sports
