Citi Open Emphasizes ATP Scheduling

Written by: Bob Larson Tennis on 6th August 2013

Citi Open Emphasizes ATP Scheduling |

The Citi Open just concluded its second year as a joint ATP-WTA event but according the New York Times, it doesn’t see itself that way.

The ATP 500-level event has existed since 1969 while the smaller WTA International event has existed in the Washington area for only three years.

The men’s purse was $1,295,790, while the women’s was $235,000.

Tournament director Donald Dell said he did not view it as a typical combined event. “I don’t say it’s a combined event; I say it’s two events playing in the same week,” Dell said “A combined event connotes — which I think is unfair to the men — like we’re an equal-prize-money tournament,” Dell said. “We’re not. And there’s no sense in trying to say that.”

Dell said that WTA CEO Stacey Allaster signed off on the deal.

“The men get a priority on the practice courts, and we told the women that going in,” Dell said. “There’s no secrets here; we don’t have a secret game plan. It’s been all transparent.”

Most of the women’s matches were played on secondary courts. On Friday, all four men’s quarterfinal matches were played at the stadium, and all four women’s quarterfinals were played on Grandstand 1.

“We deserve to play, as a semifinal, on the big court,” Alize Cornet told the Times. “And I think that the crowd wants it, too, because it’s pretty exciting to have both men and women playing at the same time — so why not putting everything on center court?”