Beemok Capital's $260M Cincinnati Open Renovation is an Investment in Tennis' Future

The newly renovated tournament brought out a more practice courts, upgraded hospitality, and a record attendance of fans.

The newly renovated Champions Court at the Cincinnati Open. | Courtesy of Cincinnati Tennis.

In the summer of 2024, one of the oldest and most prestigious tennis tournaments in the U.S. faced an unprecedented challenge: turn $260 million into a tennis compound worthy of hosting a newly expanded 96-player format in the singles draw.

With less than a year to go before the Aug. 5, 2025, deadline, organizers at the Cincinnati Open embarked on a massive renovation with global architecture firm Gensler to expand the grounds, modernize the tournament's facilities, and meet the rising demands of both players and fans. 

Beemok Capital, founded by WTA World No. 11 Emma Navarro's father, Ben Navarro, acquired the ATP and WTA 1000 tournament in 2022, immediately evaluating how to ensure the Cincinnati Open's future in Mason, Ohio.

At the time, the historic Lindner Family Tennis Center struggled to meet the growing expectations of the modern tennis world: cramped locker rooms, limited areas for player recovery, and not enough practice courts due to a lack of space, to name a few.

With the tournament's move to expand the singles draw from 56 to 96 players and a subsequent increase in doubles teams, the expectations to overhaul the venue were high. 

The newly improved Center Court and stadium at the Cincinnati Open. | Courtesy of Cincinnati Tennis.

"We wanted this to be transformative so that when people showed up on campus this year, it was going to blow them away," said Kristin Byrd, design director for Gensler's sports practice, in an interview with Sports Illustrated's Serve On SI.

The initial process involved talking with players to determine what was important to them, as well as discussing the minimum standards for a tournament of this caliber with both the ATP and WTA Hologic Tour.

Byrd, alongside the tournament’s Chief Operating Officer, Jansen Dell, looked at other tournaments on tour with the best amenities for inspiration to exceed those standards. The conversations led to the creation of a scoping document to determine which areas needed to be upgraded to improve player amenities and fan experiences. 

"Overall, the vision we wanted to create was something that was going to push this tournament into a new era and really set it up for the long haul going forward, since it had already been around for 125 years, which is really, really exciting for an American tournament," said Byrd. "It was how could we design and capture in such a way that it was it was going to be there for that long haul."

The upgraded Lindner Family Tennis Center is now 40 acres, larger than the 34-acre site at Roland Garros in Paris. An additional 10 competition courts, 19,900 fixed seats, 101 video display boards, and a shaded fan pavilion spanning 16,000 square feet are a few of the many major upgrades the tournament features.

Additionally, the tournament revealed a new 56,000-square-foot player clubhouse with two stories dedicated to luxurious dining options, larger fitness areas, and improved recovery spaces.

There are now 10 additional tennis courts at the Cincinnati Open. | Courtesy of Cincinnati Tennis.

The clubhouse is perhaps the jewel of the renovations, boasting a lounge and restaurant space for athletes as well as modernized wellness and recovery rooms, additional locker space, and a newly improved fitness center. Other amenities include a new 2,300-seat sunken Champions Court, family-friendly lawn spaces, and a 1,400-seat dining area.

For Dell, the renovation offered an opportunity to position the Cincinnati Open as a premier global tennis event. 

"The other tournaments are also taking notice of what we're doing, and it's really setting the bar for what the new standard it is throughout the entire world within tennis," Dell said in an interview. "[The players] are already calling us the fifth grand slam or on par with Wimbledon, so those kind of comparisons are pretty great for a project that we spent the last year coming up."

By investing in state-of-the-art infrastructure focusing on both player and fan experiences, the tournament looked to increase global tennis visibility through ticket sales and improved broadcasting to 188 countries. According to Dell, it's working. In 2024, the tournament welcomed a record-breaking 205,068 fans, with 70% coming from beyond Cincinnati. This year, ticket sales are expected to break that record. 

A view of the greenery incorporated into the renovations in the Commons at the Cincinnati Open. | Courtesy of Cincinnati Tennis.

"It's been communicated for a little while that this was happening, so people have been following on the peripheries," Dell said. "They're showing up excited to watch tennis. Ticket sales are through the roof, and we're having record days. Fifty states and 46 countries around the world have shown up already this tournament, so it's kind of unprecedented." 

Praise for the tournament's investment in tennis has not gone unnoticed by the players the upgrades were geared towards. Andrey Rublev spoke with Tennis Channel on how the tournament's upgrades set "an amazing example of the tournaments how they can improve." WTA World No. 3 Coco Gauff was impressed with the new hospitality changes, particularly the variety of food options now available to players.

"The facilities are great," Gauff said in an interview with Tennis Channel. "To see this kind of investment in tennis, especially in American tennis in the States, is really cool."

A larger part of the investment looks towards tennis' future in the form of nurturing the next generation. The tournament aims to incorporate a year-round component to the new facilities, hosting collegiate and high school state championship tournaments in addition to facilitating a year-round tennis academy.

"We're training the next generation of kids that come up and be professional tennis players," said Dell. "For us, this is just another stepping stone of the full development process within all of tennis."

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