Tennis Watchers Reacts: On the Grounds in Cincy
Tennis Watching....but make it live.
The Western and Southern Open returned back home to Mason after a brief stint in New York in 2020 and Tennis Watchers was on the ground for a few days to get a look at some live tennis. While many big names skipped the event this year, plenty of stars where looking to get some momentum heading into the US Open.
The Western and Southern Open has always been a fun, fan friendly event, and this year was no different. However, given the ongoing COVID pandemic there were some slight tweaks to allow for additional distancing. This included a switch to a completely cashless experience at onsite vendors, mobile ticketing, and masks/ hand sanitizer offered to fans throughout the grounds (although masks and social distancing were not required at the time I was onsite). The tournament also removed the opportunity to wait in the player entrance area to catch an autograph or selfie as players come and go throughout the day. Instead, the below player patio space was set up to allow players to spread out a bit more while preparing for their matches.
In addition, fans were asked not approach players for photos or autographs (although this wasn’t always enforced). Some practice courts that traditionally lent themselves to more packed crowds were also limited with barriers preventing fans from getting too close. These adjustments all made perfect sense in order to allow for the event to continue with full capacity (personally I would have liked to have seen more done, but enforcement would have been a major challenge). Attending a tennis event in person was definitely an experience I am still reflecting on, but since this is a newsletter all about Tennis Watching, I thought I could share some initial photos from my time onsite. You can check out a brief walkthrough below. If you have questions or thoughts about attending live tennis, feel free to reach out to me on social media @tenniswatchers or @tjc05. I would be happy to help answer any questions if you are curious what the experience was like!
Qualifying in Cincinnati is always a treat. It was great weather to watch some early round tennis. While the weather didn’t remain great, thankfully the tennis was able to make up for the forecast.
World Number 1 Ash Barty during practice.
Angie Kerber practicing at the Western and Southern Open.
Coco Gauff during her opening round win.
Felix Auger-Aliassime also found himself in the second round after a straight set win over Marton Fucsovics.
Simona Halep during her first round win.
Gael Monfils is always fun to watch, especially in person. He also advanced to the second round after a lengthy rain delay.
Grigor Dimitrov slide his way into the second round with a win over Roberto Bautista Agut.
Petra Kvitova advanced through a tricky first one match against former champion Madison Keys.
Frances Tiafoe winning his first round match late at night on the famous Court 10.
It just wouldn’t be Cincy Tennis without some late night, rained delayed tennis. Here, Ons Jabeur squeaks by Anett Kontaveit on Grandstand.
Hopefully you enjoyed a little change of pace from the usual weekly guides, if this is something you would like to see more of let me know in the comments or reach out to Tennis Watchers on Twitter or Facebook. You can find the guide for watching the rest of the action in Cincinnati below.
