Is Cincinnati Open a contender to become tennis' fifth Grand Slam?

Iga Swiatek and Carlos Alcaraz were crowned champions at the Cincinnati Open 2025.

Iga Swiatek and Carlos Alcaraz became the first champions at the revamped Lindner Family Tennis Center – home to the Cincinnati Open. The $260 million revamp, completed in time for the 2025 edition, signifies the organisers’ commitment to keeping the event on the radar of tennis fans.

Iga Swiatek and Carlos Alcaraz took home the trophies at the Cincinnati Open 2025, which was expanded to a 14-day event from nine the previous season. The player pool also increased from 56 to 96.

Swiatek claimed her 11th WTA 1000 title by defeating Jasmine Paolini in the final. Alcaraz won his third Masters title of the season and eighth overall, after Jannik Sinner ended his title defence with an injury-related withdrawal.

Swiatek became the first Pole to win the women’s singles draw at the Cincinnati Open. Alcaraz joined Swiatek in making history by becoming just the third Spaniard to win the ATP 1000 men’s singles draw. Carlos Moya in 2002 and Rafael Nadal in 2013 are the two Spaniards in question.

The renovated venue features a new Players Centre –  The Clubhouse, along with a new 2,000-seater sunken stadium named the Champions’ Court. The redesigned setting included an expanded Fan Pavilion. Fans had photo opportunities to rub shoulders with the biggest names in tennis was part of the experience at the 2025 Cincinnati Open.

It wasn’t all sunshine at the event, which experienced its share of unexpected setbacks. Power was out for an hour during the Taylor Fritz and Lorenzo Sonego encounter. The extreme heat became too much for some players to handle.

Daniil Medvedev, the 2019 champion, put his head into an on-court ice fridge in an attempt to cool off. His unconventional efforts to combat the heat during the changeover did not prevent his three-set loss to Adam Walton.

Alexander Zverev, the 2021 champion, fell to Alcaraz in the last four despite using a medical timeout in the second set. The sweat-drenched German lost to the Spaniard in straight sets.

Overall response was positive, with World No. 1 Jannik Sinner saying it was an honour to play at the venue, comparing the facilities to a hotel. Coco Gauff added that the facilities were on par with, if not better than, the Grand Slams.

In the words of Jelena Ostapenko, “I almost feel like it’s the fifth Grand Slam. Those changes in one year? This is something unbelievable.”

WTA No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka agreed that the renovations were an impressive job, but she drew attention to the limited space in the dining area. “There are so many people and so few tables, please! Next year, let’s make sure there’s more space in the dining room. Everyone loves to eat and spend time there. We need a bigger room.”

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