The ATP Dallas Open tennis tournament is wrapping up another year in the books this week.
It’s quickly turning into a North Texas tradition, while bringing in millions of dollars to the local economy.
Last year was the first time in over three decades for major tennis to return to the area. The event is something tennis star and Dallas resident John Isner wants to see grow to new heights in the years to come.
“The enthusiasm for tennis in North Texas is extremely high. In my opinion – and I’ve lived in a few different places, I’ve been all over the world playing tennis – I’ve never seen a fervor for the game like this town has,” he said in a recent press conference.
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Isner is playing host once again this year, welcoming countless tennis fans near and far who have been flocking to SMU’s Styslinger/Altec Tennis Complex all week for sold out matches, as part of the Associated Tennis Professionals Tour. The ATP Tour is the governing body of the men’s professional tennis circuits, with over 63 tournaments in 31 countries.
The ATP Tour is also responsible for other big-name events like Wimbledon, the French Open, and U.S. Open.
The Dallas Open is one of only 10 United States tournaments on the ATP Tour and the only ATP Tour indoor championship in the United States. It includes Over 60 world-class ATP Tour professionals playing in singles and doubles (28-player singles main draw, and16-team doubles draw) and is being televised across the globe.
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“We reach over 120 countries around the world with our broadcast. We have ‘Dallas’ on the courts, everybody absolutely knows where we are and I think that's going to be helpful for the city as well to help get their name out there,” said Peter Lebedevs, Dallas Open tournament director and EVP of Tennis Operations for GF Sports & Entertainment. “But you know, our goal is to make sure that everybody knows it's in Texas and we're helping out the economy as best we can. Everybody has been terrific in trying to help us make it a fantastic event.”
Last year, the Dallas Open pumped about $10 million into the local economy. Lebedevs said this year could top $13 million to $14 million dollars.
There's also a significant philanthropic impact from the tournament. The Dallas Open partners with the John Isner Family Foundation, which provides financial support for families for meals, clothing, transportation, and medical supplies while their child is under the care of Children’s Health.
Lebedevs said they took cues and requests from tennis fans to make the event even better this year. People wanted to see women athletes, so they kicked things off with a Women's Tennis Classic.
“We haven't quite gotten to all of the new things for 2024 yet, but that's going to be in our survey we send out to people. I think that's the thing people appreciate the most, is that we're listening,” said Lebedevs.
They also improved parking and have focused on working with local vendors to keep that growth in Dallas.
“We've increased the vendors that we're using locally,” said Lebedevs. “Our goal is to make sure we support local so we're not trying to bring people in from out of town – we want to have all of the people from Dallas and from Texas.”
One of those food partnerships includes beloved and Dallas-based Mi Cocina restaurant, which actually created a special “Dallas Open Mambo” drink for the occasion – similar to how other sporting events have a signature drink, such as the mint julep is to the Kentucky Derby.
And on that note – when one thinks of Dallas, the big teams that dominate basketball, football, baseball and hockey often come to mind. The ATP Dallas Open organizers hope tennis can be added to that list.
"Tennis is the fourth most popular sport in the world and we're a part of that. So to be mentioned with those sorts of sports – we're very proud of that. And we hope to keep building and raising our standards so that when people think of Dallas and the area, they think of our tennis tournament,” said Lebedevs.
The tournament runs until Sunday, Feb. 12.
