Cincinnati Open facts for kids

The Cincinnati Open (also known as the Cincinnati Masters in the past) is a big yearly professional tennis event. It takes place in Cincinnati, United States. Players compete on outdoor hard courts at the Lindner Family Tennis Center in Mason, Ohio, usually in August.

This tournament started on September 18, 1899. It is the oldest tennis tournament in the United States that is still played in its original city. It's also the third largest tennis event in the U.S., right after the US Open and the Indian Wells Masters. The Cincinnati Open is part of the top-level ATP Masters 1000 tournaments for men and WTA 1000 tournaments for women.

Quick facts for kids Cincinnati Open
Location	Cincinnati United States
Place held	Lindner Family Tennis Center (1979–current)
Court type	Hard / outdoor
Website	CincinnatiOpen.com
Current champions (2024)
Men's singles	Jannik Sinner
Women's singles	Aryna Sabalenka
Men's doubles	Marcelo Arévalo Mate Pavić
Women's doubles	Asia Muhammad Erin Routliffe

Tournament History

The tournament began in 1899 as the Cincinnati Open. In 1901, it was renamed the Tri-State Tennis Tournament. This name stuck until 1969. Over the years, it had other names, like ATP Championships. Eventually, it grew into the big tournament held today in Mason.

The first tournament in 1899 was played on clay courts. These were described as "crushed brick dust" in old newspapers. The event mostly stayed on clay until 1979. That's when it switched to hardcourts.

In 1903, the tournament moved to the Cincinnati Tennis Club. It stayed there for many years until 1972. In 1974, the tournament almost stopped completely. But at the last minute, it moved indoors to the Cincinnati Convention Center. For the first time since 1919, there was no women's competition that year. In 1975, the tournament moved to the Coney Island amusement park. This helped the tournament become popular again.

Moving to Mason

In 1979, the tournament moved to Mason. A special stadium was built there just for tennis. The playing surface also changed from clay to hardcourt. Later, two more stadiums were built. This made Cincinnati the only tennis tournament outside of the four Grand Slam events with three stadium courts. These were Center Court, Grandstand Court, and Court 3. A new Court 3 was built in 2010, making it four stadium courts in total. The old Court 3 was renamed Court 9.

The women's tournament returned in 1988 for one year. Then, it came back for good in 2004. The organizers bought another tournament and moved it to Cincinnati.

From 1981 to 1989, it was a major event on the men's Grand Prix Tennis Tour. It was part of the Grand Prix Super Series. In August 2008, the men's tournament was sold to the United States Tennis Association (USTA). The USTA also owns the US Open.

Sponsorship and Name Changes

In 2002, Western & Southern Financial Group became the tournament's first sponsor. They continued their support for many years. In 2011, the men's and women's tournaments were played in the same week. The name changed from "Western & Southern Financial Group Masters and Women's Open" to the "Western & Southern Open."

In 2022, the USTA sold the tournament to Beemok Capital. In 2023, there were talks about expanding the Lindner Family Tennis Center. This would allow the Cincinnati Open to last 12 days and have more players. There were also rumors that the tournament might move to Charlotte, North Carolina. However, Beemok Capital said they were working to keep the event in Mason.

In October 2023, Beemok announced the tournament would stay in Mason. They also confirmed it would expand to a 12-day event for both men and women starting in 2025. The number of players would increase from 56 to 96. As part of this agreement, Western & Southern ended its main sponsorship. Because of this, and to celebrate the tournament's 125th anniversary, the "Western & Southern Open" name was dropped in 2024. The tournament returned to its original name, the Cincinnati Open.

Paul M. Flory's Impact

In 1975, Paul M. Flory took charge of the tournament. He was an executive at Procter & Gamble. During his time, the tournament grew a lot. It also gave millions of dollars to charity. These charities included Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center and Tennis for City Youth. This program teaches tennis to kids in the city. Flory was honored with many awards for his work. He started as a volunteer in the late 1960s and never took a salary. Flory was born on May 31, 1922, and passed away on January 31, 2013. He remained the tournament chairman until his last day.

Tournament Venue

The Cincinnati Open is played at the Lindner Family Tennis Center. This center is in Mason, Ohio, a suburb of Cincinnati. It has 17 courts in total. Four of these are large tennis stadiums: Center Court, Grandstand Court, Court 3, and Court 9. It's one of the few places, besides Grand Slams, that has more than two permanent stadiums.

In 2009, the tournament announced a $10 million upgrade to the facility. This included building a new West Building. It added more space for players, media, and fans. This new building, called the Paul M. Flory Player Center, opened in mid-2010. It is much taller than the old building.

In 2010, plans were announced to make the grounds 40% bigger. Six new courts were added. One of these, Court 3, is used for television broadcasts. Another court has seating for 2,500 people. A new ticket office, entry area, food court, and exhibit areas were also added.

In June 2020, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the tournament temporarily moved. It was held at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York City. This helped reduce travel for players by having the Cincinnati Open and the U.S. Open in one place.

The Lindner Family Tennis Center also hosts other events. These include college tennis championships and high school state tennis championships. It has also hosted volleyball events, concerts, and charity events.

The design of the Lindner Family Tennis Center makes it easy for fans to interact with players. Players often walk among the fans when moving between courts. The tournament even shares player practice times. This creates a very friendly atmosphere.

Past Champions

Men's singles

The men's singles tournament has seen many great champions over the years.

Women's singles

The women's singles tournament has also had many famous winners.

Men's doubles (Open era)

Since the Open Era began, many strong men's doubles teams have won here.

Women's doubles (Open era)

The women's doubles competition has also crowned many champions in the Open Era.

Tournament Records

Men's singles

Roger Federer has won the Cincinnati Open more than anyone else. He won seven titles out of eight finals. His last win was in 2015. He beat Novak Djokovic in that final. In 2018, Djokovic made history at this tournament. He became the first player to win the Golden Masters. This means winning all nine Masters tournaments. Djokovic did it again in 2020, achieving the "double Golden Masters."

Most titles	Roger Federer	7
Most finals	Roger Federer	8
	Novak Djokovic
Most consecutive titles	Raymond D. Little (1900, 1901, 1902)	3
	Beals Wright (1904, 1905, 1906)
	Robert LeRoy (1907, 1908, 1909)
	Bobby Riggs (1936, 1937, 1938)
Most consecutive finals	Bill Talbert (1941–1945)	5
Most matches played	Roger Federer Novak Djokovic	57
Most matches won	Roger Federer	47
Most consecutive matches won	Bobby Riggs	21
Most times played	Roger Federer	17
Most times seeded No. 1 (since 1927)	Roger Federer	7
Best winning %	Bryan Grant	100%
	Bobby Riggs
Youngest champion	Boris Becker	17 years, 8 months, 29 days (1985)
Oldest champion	Novak Djokovic	36 years, 2 months, 28 days (2023)

Longest final
1948 (64 games)
Herbert Behrens	7	11	2	6	6
Irvin Dorfman	5	9	6	8	4

Shortest final
2011 (13 games)
Andy Murray	6	3
Novak Djokovic	4	0r

Women's singles

Most titles	Ruth Sanders Cordes	5
	Clara Louise Zinke
Most consecutive titles	May Sutton (1905, 1906, 1907)	3
	Ruth Sanders Cordes (1920, 1922, 1923)
	Clara Louise Zinke (1929, 1930, 1931)
Most consecutive finals	Clara Louise Zinke (1923–1932)	10
Most times seeded No. 1 (since 1927)	Pauline Betz	4

Men's doubles

Most titles	Daniel Nestor	5
	Bob Bryan
	Mike Bryan

Women's doubles

Most titles	Clara Louise Zinke	6
Most consecutive titles	Martha Kinsey	4
	Clara Louise Zinke

Overall Tournament Records

These records combine totals from both singles and doubles events:

	Men		Women
Most titles	Raymond D. Little	11	Clara Louise Zinke	12
Most finals	Bill Talbert	14	Clara Louise Zinke	18

See also

In Spanish: Masters de Cincinnati para niños