Charlotte Loses Western & Southern Open Bid Despite $400M Investment

The Cincinnati area will keep its 1000-level ATP and WTA tournaments — much to the dismay of those in Charlotte.

On Tuesday, Beemok Capital announced that it is keeping the Western & Southern Open in Mason, Ohio — just outside Cincinnati — for another 25 years. 

As part of the commitment to stay, Beemok will invest $260 million into improvements for Lindner Family Tennis Center, which has hosted the Open since 1979, per the Cincinnati Enquirer.

Additionally, the men’s and women’s tournaments will expand to two weeks starting in 2025, as announced in a video posted to social media starring reigning tournament champions Novak Djokovic and Coco Gauff. The 2023 edition of the tournament brought in over 200,000 fans, according to the video.

“The passion and commitment of this community to keep the tournament here was an undeniable factor in our decision to stay,” Beemok founder Benjamin Navarro said in a statement. “The city of Mason, Warren County, the state of Ohio and multiple corporate entities demonstrated their unwavering support for the tennis tournament.”

That Ohio was able to retain the tournament was something of an upset: Charlotte, North Carolina, was in the running to take the Western & Southern after it approved the construction of a $400 million tennis complex to host professional tennis. Beemok was set to provide $200 million of that funding.

Djokovic and Gauff will presumably defend their titles in 2024 from August 11 through 19.