The Citi Open will again be a combined event this summer, featuring both men’s and women’s tournaments from the Rock Creek Park Tennis Center.
The WTA-250 level tournament will include 32 competitors in singles and 16 doubles teams. It will run simultaneously to the ATP-500 level tournament from July 30 鈥� Aug. 7.
While D.C. has been a fixture on the men鈥檚 circuit since 1969, the Citi Open also included WTA fields from 2011-2019.
鈥淲e鈥檙e thrilled that the WTA Tour is coming back to Washington,鈥� Citi Open Chairman Mark Ein said in a phone interview.
鈥淥ne of the great things about the sport of tennis is that it鈥檚 the only major professional sport where men and women compete on the same big stages, and our stage in Washington is one of the biggest in the sport. To have a combined event again has been a huge priority for us and we鈥檙e thrilled.鈥�
The WTA鈥檚 presence in D.C. means the Citi Open joins the U.S. Open, plus Masters tournaments in Miami, Indian Wells and Cincinnati as the only combined events in the country featuring both men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 fields.
D.C. was not originally included on the WTA鈥檚 itinerary for 2022, but when the Auckland Open in New Zealand was canceled due COVID-19 in January, there was an appetite to stage a 250-level tournament elsewhere within the calendar year. The Citi Open was a logical fit.
While the WTA鈥檚 presence in Washington isn鈥檛 guaranteed beyond this summer, Ein said it鈥檚 the goal of the Citi Open to create a long-term partnership.
鈥淲e鈥檙e committed to having this be a full combined event long into the future,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e have a great solution for this summer but we鈥檙e already working on the long-term situation.鈥�
With the expansion of the Citi Open to include the WTA tournament, the entire event will consist of nearly 50% more matches. To accommodate the increased volume, daytime sessions are expected to begin at noon — two hours earlier than at last year鈥檚 ATP-only event.
鈥淭here鈥檚 going to be almost double the amount of matches, so it鈥檚 a real boom to fans because there鈥檚 more content and there鈥檚 more great players,鈥� Ein said.
Player fields for both the men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 tournaments will be released in the coming weeks. Last year鈥檚 Citi Open set attendance records in Rock Creek Park with former world No.1 and 21-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal among the headliners.
Ein anticipates a strong turnout for this year鈥檚 WTA field as well.
鈥淥ur city has embraced women鈥檚 tennis, frankly since we brought World Team Tennis here in 2008,鈥� said Ein, who also owns the WTT鈥檚 Washington Kastles.
鈥淭he players love coming here. It鈥檚 the perfect stop. For many of the Europeans, with the next stop on the Tour being in Canada, it鈥檚 a great way to get back to [North America]. And they love playing here in front of our fans. They love the event, they love the stadium. I know we鈥檙e going to have an exceptional field.鈥�
Past WTA tournaments at the Citi Open have for some of the game鈥檚 best players. Americans Sloane Stephens (2015) and while 2019 U.S. Open champion Bianca Andreescu secured her first career WTA match win in D.C. in 2017.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 one of the great things about the event,鈥� said Ein, 鈥渋s you get to see a lot of great players who are already great and then you see some younger players who will become great.鈥�
