CINCINNATI (April 25, 2022) – Single session tickets for the 2022 Western & Southern Open will go on sale Tuesday, April 26, at 11 a.m.

Tickets for all 16 sessions of the Aug. 13-21 tournament include reserved Center Court seating along with access to the other seven match courts and nine practice courts. The single session offerings range from opening weekend access starting at just $10 to premium offerings to see the trophies lifted on Championship Sunday.

In addition to seeing the best players from both the ATP men’s and WTA women’s tours, fans can experience more than a dozen restaurants, more than a half dozen signature bar areas, nearly 40 live musical performances and various shopping opportunities. General parking is included with single session ticket purchases.

In 2022, there will be added amenities for fans attending the Western & Southern Open, including a new fan experience area at the south end of the venue featuring outdoor lounge seating, interactive entertainment experiences and a full line-up of programming. Fans can also expect autograph sessions, player Q&A events and Kids Day to return to the tournament this year.

Tickets may be purchased online at WSOpen.com and Ticketmaster.com. While single session tickets will go on sale Tuesday, April 26, Full Series and Mini Plan ticket packages are on sale now. The tournament will once again be a fully digital ticket operation and fans will be able to access their tickets through the Western & Southern Open App.

The Western & Southern Open is one of only five premier events globally to host an ATP Masters 1000 and WTA 1000 tournament in the same week at the same venue, joining Indian Wells, California, Madrid, Miami and Rome.

Since becoming a single-week tournament in 2011, the Western & Southern Open has hosted more than 1.8 million spectators, including ticket buyers who have traveled to Cincinnati from all 50 states and 35 different countries.

The 2021 singles championships were won by Ashleigh Barty and Alexander Zverev while the doubles titles were claimed by Sam Stosur & Zhang Shuai and Marcel Granollers & Horacio Zeballos.

The Western & Southern Open is part of the US Open Series and is held annually at the Lindner Family Tennis Center in Mason, Ohio.

About the Western & Southern Open
Founded in 1899, the Western & Southern Open is an ATP Masters 1000 and a WTA 1000 tournament. The Western & Southern Open annually welcomes nearly 200,000 fans who come from all 50 states and more than 35 countries and is seen by more than 120 million global viewers in over 160 countries. The tournament is also one of the last stops on the US Open Series before the US Open in New York. Since 1974, the tournament has contributed more than $11 million to various beneficiaries including Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, the Barrett Cancer Center and Tennis for City Youth. The tournament is held at the Lindner Family Tennis Center, 20 miles north of Cincinnati in Mason, Ohio. For more information, visit www.wsopen.com.

About the US Open Series
The US Open Series serves as a true “regular season” of summer tennis in North America, linking nine WTA and ATP Tour tournaments to the US Open. Featuring a cohesive weekly viewing schedule, as well as comprehensive outreach and grassroots engagement initiatives, the Series serves as a vital platform to promote and grow the game of tennis in person and at home. Fans can follow along all summer as today’s top champions go head-to-head with tomorrow’s emerging stars, while each tournament engages its local community with a variety of programs geared toward showcasing and promoting the game to new and existing fans.

Frances Tiafoe was feeling “under the weather” entering his first-round matchup Monday at the Millennium Estoril Open. He must have felt even worse as he trailed Dusan Lajovic by a set and a break, but after an off-court visit with the physio, he was able to take command of a match that seemed to be slipping away.

The fifth-seeded American dominated the second half of the match to run away with a 2-6, 7-5, 6-0 victory.

“I’m not feeling very well. I’m a little but under the weather,” said Tiafoe, who reached the Estoril final on his 2018 debut. “It was tough for me to move or breathe and stuff like that. The physio saved me today. He took me in there, down a set and a break, and I started feeling a little bit better.”

What a comeback 😳@FTiafoe comes back from a set and a break down and not feeling well to defeat Lajovic 2-6 7-5 6-0 in a bizarre match in Estoril! pic.twitter.com/DF2p0JrHRC

— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) April 25, 2022

Tiafoe saved a pair of break points to avoid going behind 0-3 in the second set before briefly leaving the court. When he returned, he won 12 of the last 15 games — including the last eight in a row — to advance.

His started his comeback by connecting on some all-or-nothing shots as he looked to shorten the points. After getting back on serve, he began to win points in many other ways, including claiming the long rallies that Lajovic owned throughout the opening set. 

It was all working for the American in set three, as he mixed in some drop shots to go along with his baseline brilliance to see out the match with ease.

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Following the victory, he gave a special shout-out to a young fan named Pedro who had watched him on his 2018 final run. Tiafoe secured tickets for the youngster to watch Monday’s match.

“I didn’t want to give up,” Tiafoe said. “I wanted to win so he could watch me play here all week.”

Addressing the Portuguese crowd as as a whole, he later added: “I love the fans here. You guys get so much behind me. You guys love the tennis I bring, so that means a lot to me.”

Tiafoe will play Portugal’s Nuno Borges in the second round on Wednesday after the 25-year-old wild card advanced past Pablo Andujar via a second-set retirement. 

Soonwoo Kwon also advanced on Monday, beating Benoit Paire, 6-4, 7-5.

Miomir Kecmanovic has been one of the most consistent performers on the ATP Tour so far in 2022 and the World No. 38 brought his strong form to the BMW Open by American Express in Munich on Monday, brushing past German wild card Max Hans Rehberg with a 6-2, 6-3 first-round win at the ATP 250 event.

The Serb has reached the quarter-finals in his past five tournaments, including runs to the last eight at the ATP Masters 1000 events in Miami and Indian Wells. He was once again in clinical form against Rehberg at the Iphitos Tennis Club, breaking twice in each set against a player making his tour-level debut in his hometown.

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Kecmanovic sits at a career-high No. 38 in the ATP Rankings and pushed World No. 1 Novak Djokovic to three sets in the quarter-finals at the Serbia Open last week. The 22-year-old will be keen to turn his good form into a deep run on tournament debut in Munich as he chases a first tour-level semi-final of 2022. Seventh-seeded Kecmanovic is guaranteed to face a home favourite in the second round, either World No. 67 Daniel Altmaier or three-time champion Philipp Kohlschreiber.

Also on Monday, Alex Molcan maintained his impressive clay-court form with a 6-1, 3-6, 7-6(7) win over fellow Slovak Norbert Gombos. Molcan defeated Felix Auger-Aliassime on his way to a second tour-level final in Marrakech two weeks ago, but the World No. 46 faces a stern test in the second round in Bavaria as he lines up against second seed Casper Ruud.

No. 9 Carlos Alcaraz +2, (Career High)
The #NextGenATP Spaniard has made more history after becoming the ninth-youngest player to climb into the Top 10 since the inception of the ATP Rankings in 1973. The 18-year-old captured his third tour-level title of the season on the clay at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell in front of his home support, defeating Pablo Carreno Busta in the final. The last player to crack the Top 10 at Alcaraz’s age was countryman Rafael Nadal, who also achieved the feat on 25 April following the ATP 500 in Barcelona in 2005. Nadal triumphed at the event 17 years ago, defeating Alcaraz’s coach Juan Carlos Ferrero in the championship match. Read Barcelona Final Report & Watch Highlights.

View Latest ATP Rankings

No. 18 Pablo Carreno Busta, +1
The 30-year-old has jumped one spot after reaching his first ATP Tour final of the season in Barcelona. The Spaniard, who is a six-time tour-level champ, earned impressive wins against seeded pair Casper Ruud and Diego Schwartzman as he advanced to his maiden championship match in the Spanish city in his 10th appearance at the event.

No. 50 Fabio Fognini, +12
The Italian has climbed back into the Top 50 following his run to the semi-finals at the Serbia Open. The 34-year-old moved past Marco Cecchinato, Aljaz Bedene and Oscar Otte to reach the last four at a tournament for the second time this season (Rio de Janeiro). Fognini lost to Andrey Rublev, who went on to defeat World No. 1 Novak Djokovic in the final in Belgrade. Read Belgrade Final Report & Watch Highlights.

Other Notable Top 100 Movers
No. 22 Grigor Dimitrov, +1
No. 24 Alex de Minaur, +1
No. 48 Marton Fucsovics, +5
No. 61 Lorenzo Musetti, +7
No. 62 Oscar Otte, +5 (Career High)
No. 63 Emil Ruusuvuori, +10 (Career High)
No. 76 Brandon Nakashima, +5
No. 88 Jiri Lehecka, +5 (Career High)

“I’d like to be World No. 1, a Grand Slam champion, winner of Olympic medals… I dream big.”

In the time since Carlos Alcaraz first appeared on the ATP Tour in 2020, he has never been shy about his expectations. They are no different from what you might hear from many other players of his age aspiring to make a name for themselves on the Tour. The amazing thing about Alcaraz, though, is that aged 18 he already looks set to achieve them.

Although he still has a very long career ahead of him, the Spaniard has progressed at a frightening pace. One year ago, he was still outside the Top 100 and marked as a player with the potential to be one of the world’s best. Today, Alcaraz broke into the Top 10 of the ATP Rankings at World No. 9.

“I’ve always been a normal guy. I’m not scared of fame, I’m not going to change the person I am,” Alcaraz said. “I’m happy to know that at 18 years old I’m in the Top 10, and to do it [at] the same age as my idol Rafa is impressive.”

The Spaniard accomplished the feat at 18 years, 11 months and 20 days, making him the ninth-youngest player to do so since the inception of the ATP Rankings in 1973. It is the first time someone of his age has done it since countryman Rafael Nadal aged 18 years, 10 months and 22 days. Coincidentally, or perhaps symbolically, the 36-time ATP Masters 1000 champion also achieved the feat on 25 April following the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell in 2005.

Youngest Top 10 Players

“I don’t have any limits. I want to keep playing at the level I’m at and I think that if I keep going like this I have a lot of options to keep going up,” Alcaraz said. “I want to keep enjoying myself on the court, I don’t want to touch the ceiling yet.”

Cracking the Top 10 is not the only feat Alcaraz has achieved through his talent. On top of being one of the youngest players to earn a place in the Top 10, no other player has ever reached 50 tour-level victories with so few matches played. The Spaniard only required 70 tour-level clashes to reach the benchmark, bettering the 79 needed by Djokovic, 81 for Nadal and 97 for Roger Federer.

He also reached the mark three matches earlier than his coach, Juan Carlos Ferrero (73), who occupied the pinnacle of the ATP Rankings for eight weeks. The former World No. 1, apart from polishing his understudy’s technique, also takes it upon himself to teach him about his journey in 2003.

“I have Juan Carlos, who is able to tell me how difficult it is and how much of a sacrifice it takes to reach No. 1. I think I’m on the right path. If I stay on it and continue to do things well, I will have chances, but that doesn’t guarantee anything,” Alcaraz said of the advantage of having an experienced coach.

While last season he reeled out several personal firsts such as his debut win in a Grand Slam, in an ATP Masters 1000 and against a Top 10 player, this season he is taking down some more significant milestones such as winning his maiden ATP 500 trophy in Rio de Janeiro – where he was the youngest to do so since the category was created in 2009 – and a Masters 1000 crown in Miami. Since his first title in Umag in 2021, his trophy cabinet has been filling up quickly.

Alcaraz’s progress as a player has been meteoric. The 2021 Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals champion has a fast serve that belies his years and he is solid both on his backhand and his powerful forehand. Essentially, he hits the ball extremely hard. He is capable of changing the tempo of a match, is very tactically intelligent and has in his hands the ability to produce any shot his vivid imagination can conjure up. Don’t forget about his drop shots, either.

Despite the magnitude of his success, the people that work with him every day are not particularly surprised by his quick development. To go along with all the above-mentioned strengths, Alcaraz’s team has instilled in him a culture for working extremely hard that he has welcomed with open arms, allowing him to flourish in record time. He is respectful, humble, ambitious and a winner. All this is hidden behind a permanent smile. It is a cocktail of ingredients that all add up to create one of today’s best players.

Only time will tell if he is capable of achieving his dream. Meanwhile, he is now able to boast of having done something that very few of his age have done before him — being one of the ATP Tour’s straight-A students by becoming a member of the Top 10 in the ATP Rankings.

Some of the world’s biggest stars will be in action this week with Felix Auger-Aliassime, Dominic Thiem and Alexander Zverev all competing as the European clay-court swing continues.

Auger-Aliassime is the top seed at the Millennium Estoril Open, where sixth seed Albert Ramos-Vinolas is preparing for his title defence. Zverev leads the field on home soil at the BMW Open by American Express in Munich, where defending champion Nikoloz Basilashvili returns as the fourth seed.

ATPTour.com looks ahead at 10 things to watch this week.

View Draws: Munich | Estoril

FIVE THINGS TO WATCH IN ESTORIL
1) Felix Back In Form: After a stellar start to the season in which he won his first ATP Tour title in Rotterdam and helped Canada claim the ATP Cup, Auger-Aliassime cooled. But he began to rediscover his top form in Barcelona, advancing to the quarter-finals with wins over Carlos Taberner and Frances Tiafoe before a three-set loss to Diego Schwartzman. Making his main-draw debut in Estoril, the 21-year-old will be eager to build on that progress as he pursues his first tour-level trophy on clay.

2) Thiem Steps Up Comeback: Dominic Thiem has made incremental progress in his first two events back from a right-wrist injury. After a straight-sets loss in an ATP Challenger Tour event in Marbella, he took a set off John Millman at the Serbia Open last week. The Austrian will seek the first victory of his comeback against France’s Benjamin Bonzi, with eighth seed Sebastian Korda a possible second-round opponent and Auger-Aliassime a potential third-round matchup. This will be the 28-year-old’s Estoril debut.

3) Foki Returns: After reaching his first ATP Tour final at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters, 22-year-old Alejandro Davidovich Fokina returns to action in Estoril. His career-high ATP Ranking of No. 27 earned him the fourth seed and a first-round bye as he seeks to improve upon a semi-final run last year in Estoril. He also advanced to the last four at the Portuguese ATP 250 in 2019 aged 19.

4) Defending Champ Ramos-Vinolas: Sixth seed Albert Ramos-Vinolas won a third-set tie-break to defeat Cameron Norrie for the 2021 Estoril title, and will open his title defence against Aussie Jordan Thompson.The Spaniard dropped just one set in last year’s title run and has claimed all four of his ATP Tour trophies on clay. 

5) Borges, Sousa Represent Portugal: Wild cards Nuno Borges and Joao Sousa will be the home favourites in the singles draw. Borges, a former college star in the United States at Mississippi State University, is competing in his second ATP Tour event. The 25-year-old reached the Estoril second round as a qualifier last season. Borges also claimed a Challenger crown earlier this month in Barletta, Italy.

Sousa, currently the World No. 85, reached a career-high of No. 28 in 2016. He seeks a second tour-level title this season following his February triumph in Pune.

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FIVE THINGS TO WATCH IN MUNICH
1) Zverev Leads Field: Zverev headlines the field at the Munich ATP 250 event as he bids to win his third title at the tournament. The World No. 3, who is competing at his second clay-court event of the season (Monte Carlo SF), lifted the trophy in 2017 and 2018, but has not been beyond the quarter-finals in Munich since. The German will face one of two #NextGenATP players — Dane Holger Rune or qualifier Jiri Lehecka — in his first match and is seeded to meet American Reilly Opelka in the semi-finals.

2) Ruud Returns To Munich: Casper Ruud has often produced his best level on clay throughout his career, winning six of his seven ATP Tour titles on the surface, including a victory in Buenos Aires this year. The Norwegian will be making his fourth appearance in Munich, where his best result came in 2021, when he made the semi-finals. The second seed will open his campaign against Slovakian Alex Molcan or qualifier Norbert Gombos.

3) #NextGenATP Stars In Action: Brandon Nakashima and Rune will both make their Munich debuts. American Nakashima is competing in his first clay-court event of 2022 and meets eighth seed Botic van de Zandschulp in the first round. The 18-year-old wild card Rune, who won an ATP Challenger Tour event on clay in Italy earlier this month, opens against fellow #NextGenATP player Lehecka, who battled through two tough qualifying matches to reach the main draw.

4) Former Winners: In addition to Zverev, the former Munich champions in the field are Nikoloz Basilashvili (2021), Cristian Garin (2019) and Germany’s Philipp Kohlschreiber (2016). Basilashvili is the fourth seed, Garin the fifth seed and Kohlschreiber a wild card. Basilashvili begins his tournament against Ilya Ivashka or Mackenzie McDonald. Garin, who reached the semi-finals on the Houston clay in April, faces Serbian Filip Krajinovic, while World No. 132 Kohlschreiber opens against Daniel Altmaier.

5) Mektic/Pavic Headline Doubles Draw: Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic are the top seeds in the doubles draw as they aim to lift their first trophy of the season. The Croatians will face stiff competition from second seeds John Peers and Filip Polasek and Germans Kevin Krawietz and Andreas Mies. Krawietz and Mies, the home favourites, captured the title in Barcelona on Sunday. The Germans won the Roland Garros trophy together in 2019 and 2020.

Despite losing to Andrey Rublev in the Serbia Open final on Sunday, World No. 1 Novak Djokovic is aiming to take encouragement out of his run in Belgrade as he looks to build on his newfound momentum in the coming weeks.

“I have to look at the positives. [I] played the final in front of my home crowd,” Djokovic said in his post-match press conference. “It was unfortunate that in the third set I ran out of gas and couldn’t give it more of a fight. Congrats to Andrey for playing another great week. He is at the top of the men’s game and one of the best players for a reason.

“I could have easily lost in the first match, so after four tough three-set battles all I can say is I am tired. Winning the tough three-set battles before this match will serve me well for the continuation of the season.

The Serbian fell to Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in his opening match in Monte Carlo last week, but showed signs he is returning to form at the ATP 250 clay-court event, earning three hard-fought third-set wins to reach his maiden final of the season.

Djokovic defeated Laslo Djere, Miomir Kecmanovic and Karen Khachanov in front of his home support, but was unable to find one final push against Rublev as he faded in the deciding set, with the second seed triumphing 6-2, 6-7(4), 6-0.

“I didn’t feel too tired until the end of the second set,” Djokovic said when reflecting on the match. “The 5-4 game was a long game and that is when I started to not feel great. I think I played well in the tie-break. I came out ready to fight another set, but it wasn’t [a] very pleasant thing for people to see on the court, so I am sorry for that kind of experience as I knew people wanted to see me fight and try and win. But it wasn’t to be this time.”

The 86-time tour-level titlist will continue to compete on Tour over the next month and while he is not 100 per cent happy with where his fitness levels are currently, he is pleased with the progress that he has made this week.

“At least this bad feeling physically came in the fourth match rather than the first match in Monte Carlo,” Djokovic said. “Things are progressing slowly but surely.”