MDE Tennis and IMG have announced that the Citi Open in Washington, D.C. is combining with the Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic to become the Mubadala Citi DC Open beginning this year, Saturday, July 29 through Sunday, Aug. 6. The move from San Jose elevates the DC women’s event from a WTA 250 level to a WTA 500 level, making the Mubadala Citi DC Open the only combined ATP-WTA 500 tournament in the world on the tour calendar. The move is subject to ATP Board approval.
The newly christened tournament will feature many of the world’s top ATP and WTA players, including World No. 2 Daniil Medvedev, singles and doubles champion Nick Kyrgios, three-time Grand Slam champion and two-time Gold Medalist Andy Murray, and beloved local player and rising star Francis Tiafo.
The Mubadala Citi DC Open is the fifth largest pro tennis event in the United States and will take place at the William H.G. FitzGerald Tennis Center in Rock Creek Park in northwest Washington, DC. The tournament was founded in 1969 to support Arthur Ashe’s vision of playing professional tennis in a public park, making tennis accessible to everyone. Since MDE Tennis took over management of the tournament in 2019, the event’s popularity has exploded, with record attendance of over 80,000 and total sell-outs of every session for the last two years.
The Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic was founded 52 years ago by Billie Jean King as the first event of the 1971 professional women’s tour that has now become the WTA. The tournament will make history once again when it moves to the nation’s capital. The tournament will remain a 28-player field and presents a rare opportunity for a combined 500-level event the same week, allowing WTA players to compete in front of a larger audience with a more convenient tour schedule in proximity to the next major WTA events and then the U.S. Open in New York City later that month. Tennis fans, meanwhile, will be able to enjoy the highest levels of men’s and women’s professional tennis during the same week.
“Since we took over the Citi Open in 2019, one of our top goals was to secure the long-term rights to host an equal level WTA 500 event in combination with our historic ATP 500 event that is beloved by our community and that has been a highlight of summers in Washington for 53 years. We are thrilled to now make that a reality and are deeply grateful to Mubadala, Citi, and IMG for this unique and impactful partnership,” said Mark Ein, Mubadala Citi DC Open’s Chairman. “Being able to showcase men and women at the same highest-level events is one of the things that makes tennis so special, and this move solidifies the Mubadala Citi DC Open as one of the premiere professional tennis tournaments in the world.”
“We are thrilled to host the Mubadala Citi DC Open in the Sports Capital. We are also excited to make DC’s biggest tennis event even bigger,” said DC Mayor Muriel Bowser. “For more than 50 years, the Citi Open has entertained and inspired Washingtonians from across all eight wards and tennis fans from around the world.”
Season tickets for the 2023 Mubadala Citi DC Open are already on sale online or by calling (202) 721-9500. More than half of the lower bowl is already sold, and every session for the last two years has sold out, with season ticket holders now comprising a large portion of the attendees. Individual seats will be available closer to the event.
