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Novak Djokovic, Coco Gauff reveal Western & Southern Open will stay in Cincinnati

The combined 1000-level tournament had been rumored to be making a move to Charlotte, North Carolina, just before the 125th anniversary of the event.

ByDavid Kane

Published Oct 10, 2023

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Midwest tennis fans, breathe a sigh of relief: Cincinnati is here to stay.

The Western & Southern Open dropped a star-studded video led by 2023 champions Novak Djokovic and Coco Gauff, who revealed that the combined 1000-level tournament would indeed remain at the Lindner Family Tennis Center—for its 125th anniversary in 2024 and beyond.

“I’ve won three of your trophies,” smiles Djokovic, who won one of the best matches of the season against Carlos Alcaraz in an unforgettable final. “I would love to win a fourth one in August.”

The event was equally auspicious for Gauff, who won her first WTA 1000 title in Mason to foreshadow her run to Grand Slam glory at the US Open.

“I’m so looking forward to defending my title and celebrating with you guys again,” said the 19-year-old Gauff. “Cincinnati will forever be special to me.”

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The tournament had been previously rumored to make a move following the 2023 tournament, with reports that Beemok Capital, run by Cincinnati and Charleston owner Ben Navarro—father of WTA player Emma Navarro—were looking to invest $400 million venue in Charlotte, North Carolina.

“Our process in other cities follows the same course we have taken in Greater Cincinnati, to both present the benefits of the tournament to the local community as well as evaluate the opportunities and constraints the region presents,” Beemok Capital said at the time. “We’ve had productive conversations with state and local representatives in Mason and the surrounding area and have made considerable efforts to develop a potential master plan to expand the event in its current location.”

Djokovic and Gauff announced that $200 million will be allocated to improving the Mason, Ohio Lindner Family Tennis Center, which has hosted the tournament since 1979 and welcomed over 200,000 fans to its grounds in 2023.

In 2025, the tournament will become the latest Masters 1000 event to become a two-week tournament, following the Mutua Madrid Open and Internazionali BNL d’Italia, which expanded to two weeks for the first time this spring.