Cincinnati Open smashes attendance record
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Arthur Fils of France holds up the Rookwood Cup after winning the Cincinnati Open. Photo: Ian Johnson/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
The Cincinnati Open just wrapped a record-setting two weeks in Mason, but tournament director Bob Moran is already working on 2027.
Why it matters: More than 300,000 fans came through the gates at Lindner Family Tennis Center for the first time, giving organizers plenty to celebrate and dissect.
- The 2025 tournament drew a then-record 285,571 fans.
Driving the news: Moran calls this year's tournament a "great success," with Serena and Venus Williams' doubles appearance serving something that "truly transcends tennis."
- "We saw moms, daughters and granddaughters all out here to see the Williams sisters, so it was really special for us," he tells Axios.
There was plenty of hometown interest, too: Cincinnati's JJ Wolf and Caty McNally, and Mason's Peyton Stearns and Vignesh Gogineni competed, with Gogineni making his Cincinnati Open debut.
The big picture: Those fans showed up even with stars Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz out due to injuries.
- That's one of the few things organizers simply can't control, Moran says.
What worked: The new Kroger Indoor Fan Zone turned the indoor courts into an air-conditioned hangout with music, autograph signings and stage shows, drawing up to 2,000 people at a time.
- Organizers also added food trucks and made food options easier to find around the grounds.
Yes, but: Rain exposed one stubborn growing pain: parking.
- Several grass lots became mud pits and had to close, squeezing an already limited capacity even more.
- New drying equipment on the courts fared better.
- "So winning the time battle and getting the courts back up kept us on schedule and we didn't lose anything economically," Moran says.
What's next: Organizers will spend the next two weeks reviewing feedback from fans, players and staff.
- Moran says traffic and parking are among the "opportunities where we'll continue to get better."