'It's absolutely beautiful.' Here are the new renovations coming to the Cincinnati Open
One day after Aryna Sabalenka and Jannik Sinner won Cincinnati Open titles last August, construction began to make the Lindner Family Tennis Center “bigger and better” for 2025 and beyond.
“It was really an ambitious goal to do this in less than 11 months,” Cincinnati Open Tournament Director Bob Moran told The Enquirer. “The renovations have come so far.”
Once it was announced that the Cincinnati Open was staying in Mason, Beemok Capital laid the groundwork on how to make the tournament one of the premier stops on the tour.
With the tournament just around the corner, players and fans alike will get to see the big changes at the venue for the 2025 event.
‘It’s absolutely beautiful.’
Cincinnati native Peyton Stearns had been going to her hometown tournament long before she joined the WTA Tour. That experience didn’t help the Mason native know her way around the new-look campus when she visited in July.
“She (Stearns) got lost,” Moran laughed. “It’s fun to see her perspective. We’re eager to hear all of the other players’ perspectives when they come through.”
The new two-story, 56,000 square-foot player center and a new 2,000-seat sunken stadium are some of the more significant changes with the tournament needing to accommodate the larger fields. The Cincinnati Open expanded to a two-week tournament and player fields expanded to 96 from both tours, up from 56 in 2024.
Just two years ago, the tournament featured 17 courts. This year, it has 31, including a new 6-court indoor tennis facility.
“The player building, the new sunken court, it’s absolutely beautiful. That’s all to be able to deal with the expanded draw from 56 to 96 (players),” Moran said. “You have about three extra people for every player (coach, hitting partner), so we’re looking at taking care of 1,500-1,600 people. The expansion was absolutely necessary to achieve that and be able to execute.”
‘We heard our fans.’
Cincinnati is known for its intimacy compared to other stops on the tour and the accessibility to players was not lost in the $ 260 million campus renovations.
With the expanded fields, fans will have even more of the game’s biggest starts to watch up close, especially during practice rounds.
The venue added 10 new courts on the south side of the facility, which are encircled by stands. On the north side of the facility, new stands were added to the middle and the sides, giving fans an up-close look at practice sessions.
“We heard our fans. We want to make sure they can be around the players, be close to the players, feel what it’s like to train and be, not just on center court, but what are they doing on the practice courts? That’s gonna be something that the fans take in really fast. They have access.”
The venue added more areas for fans throughout the two-week event, including The Pavilion in the heart of campus that features a 28-foot video screen and autograph sessions through the tournament.
The tournament also added six pickleball and two padel courts on the grounds.
‘The centerpiece of tennis and racket sports in the Midwest.’
Beemok Capital has always been outspoken on its plans to renovate the Lindner Family Tennis Center into a year-round facility.
The venue will host a junior event during the second week of the Cincinnati Open, and that’s just the start. In June, the OHSAA announced that state tennis would return to Mason for the next three years.
“We’re about inspiration and aspiration,” Moran said. “We’re excited about all the things we’re bringing to the table.”
In early-2026, according to Moran, the Lindner Family Tennis Center will be ready to host events for all levels with fully operational tennis and pickleball courts, as well as a restaurant.
“You name it, we’ve got a lot of things we want to have running. We want to be the centerpiece of tennis and racket sports in the Midwest,” Moran said. “I’m excited for people to see that they can come out any time and put a racket in their hands.”
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Here are the new renovations coming to the Cincinnati Open in 2025
