Cincinnati championship renamed as the Western and Southern Open
One of the oldest United States professional tennis competition still contested in its original city has been renamed as the Western and Southern Open on Tuesday. It begins on 13th August each year at the Lindner Family Tennis Centre in Mason,
OH.
The significance of the competition on the tour can be highlighted from the fact that nine of its ten champions in the last few seasons have gone on to enjoy the top spot in the South African Airways ATP rankings list. The 29-year-old Roger Federer has captured
the crown for the last two years whereas the reigning United States Open winner Kim Clijsters from Belgium triumphed in the finals this season.
The officials of the competition made an announcement on Tuesday regarding the complete rebranding of the tournament, which was first competed in Cincinnati back in 1899. The event had been named the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters and Women’s
Open since 2004.
The Western and Southern Financial Group is still its title sponsor and is closely taking part in the creation of the new logo and brand. A change in the format of the event along with the major facility investments is highly motivational for the rebranding.
An announcement was made earlier in 2010 that Cincinnati will soon become a combined competition, suggesting that the men as well as women will play during a single week.
Previously called the Western and Southern Financial Group Masters and Women's Open, the competition which will now be called the Western and Southern Open is one of only five tournaments in the world where fans can enjoy at least a Masters 1000 contest
on the ATP tour and a Premier level event for the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) taking place at a time.
“The combined competition coming in August 2011 will be the best product we have ever put on the courts in our 110-year history. The new logo and tournament name are necessary to represent the formation of this new event,” reflected the chairman of the competition,
Paul Flory, on Tuesday.
The overall prize money for the Western and Southern Open will exceed $5 million next year. The Swiss tennis maestro Roger Federer picked up the trophy from the men’s side back in 2009. A total of 233,775 people came to see their Swiss superstar defend his
title. In the women’s side, the Belgian tennis sensation, Kim Clijsters captured the Cincinnati women’s crown before going on to lift her second United States Open trophy in a row in less than twenty days later.
Contested at the Lindner Family Tennis Centre in Ohio, the competition is one of the final warm ups prior to the year’s final Grand Slam, the United States Open in New York, followed only by the New Heaven tournament.
In order to accommodate the changed format, the tennis centre is going through extensive renovation. A total of six new courts are being constructed along with an increase in the seating capacity. Due to increase in the number of courts, eight matches will
be played at a time as opposed to four in the past years. The estimated amount to be spent in the expansion project is 7.5 million U.S. dollars. The new prize money for the competition will also exceed fifteen million U.S. dollars.
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