Dallas continues to dominate so much as a sports city, that professional tennis is putting more emphasis into the Dallas Open.
The annual tennis pro event – which only kicked off two years ago – is being upgraded to an ATP Tour 500 level tournament starting in 2025.
This will help the Dallas Open gain increased stature and more opportunities within the professional tennis circuit.
The tournament will be able to offer more ATP ranking points and bigger prize money, which will draw in even more competition and more top-ranking players.
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The Dallas Open’s upgrade bid, by GF Sports & Entertainment, was headlined by a relocation to a soon-to-be-announced new venue. The city has a long track record of hosting major sporting events including All-Star Games and Super Bowls, and is set to be a host city of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
John Isner – retired tennis legend and Dallas resident – personally campaigned to get the Dallas open to move to North Texas from New York in 2022.
"I think it goes to show how successful the tournament has been in its first two years here. The tour sees this tournament as only getting bigger and better and that's why it was awarded this 500 level upgrade," he said in an interview with NBC 5.
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Isner added that the track record for sports in Dallas shows the city has the potential to grow in yet another sport.
"There's a lot of people that believe that this tournament here in Dallas is only going to keep getting bigger and better. And that was a reason for the expansion,” he said. “Being in the Dallas metroplex area, it's just a great place. It's got a lot of runway to grow in my opinion. So we'll see what happens."
Dallas was one of just three cities out of 17 around the world to be chosen for an upgrade to the ATP 500. Doha, Qatar and Munich, Germany were also selected to be upgraded to ATP 500 status.
Each of the three tournaments will offer approximately $2.8 million in prize money from 2025 and contribute to a growing ATP 500 Bonus Pool. In total, the three upgrades will deliver approximately $51.7 million in additional player compensation over five years at the ATP 500 category.
The upgrades will expand the ATP 500 category from 13 to 16 tournaments across the season including the already existing destinations like Tokyo, London, and Beijing.
As part of the process, ATP 250 tournaments in Atlanta, Lyon, and Newport will be retired from 2025.
Organizers are finalizing plans for the upcoming Dallas Open 2024 happening Feb. 3 through Feb. 11 at Southern Methodist University.
The Dallas Open has yet to announce the new location planned for 2025 but those details are expected soon, according to the ATP.
