How Ohio’s Cincinnati Open Became a Must-Play for Tennis Legends

The Cincinnati Open is the longest-running professional tennis tournament played in its city of origin in the USA. First launched in 1899 at Xavier University, the event is much anticipated by tennis fans across the world – with 200,000 fans coming from all 50 states of America and beyond.

The Cincinnati Open tournament is an ATP Masters 1000 and WTA 1000 tournament – it’s viewed by around 126 million people globally in over 192 worldwide markets. The event celebrated its 125th year in 2024 – a huge milestone. In 2025, the tournament is set to have an extensive refresh – with a total of 260 million being invested to enable on-site improvement. Whether you’re a tennis fan or not, you’re bound to have heard of the Cincinnati Open. But are you aware of its history and how it became the important sporting event it is today? Can you name any of its winners? We’ll discuss all this and more below.

Cincinnati Open winners

Many of your favorite tennis players have made history at the Cincinnati Open through the years. From Serena Williams to Andy Murray and Roger Federer, the tournament has showed athletes at top form, along with some nail-biting competition.

Here’s a list of some of the most notable past winners of the Cincinnati Open:

Roger Federer 

Federer holds the record for the most titles in the men’s singles event at the Cincinnati Open. He has seven in total, capturing his first back in 2005 when he defeated Andy Roddick. He then went on to win more titles in 2007, 2009, 2010,2012, 2014 and 2015. Federer also holds records for:

• Most finals (8)

• Most matches played (57)

• Most matches won (47)

• Most editions played (17)

• Most times seeded Number 1 (7)

Serena Williams

Star athlete Serena Williams won her first Cincinnati title back in 2014, then again in 2015.

There was a rematch of the 2014 final, Williams, who was the top seed, beat Ana Ivanovic in the last eight before achieving a semi-final victory by winning against Elina Svitolina.

She then dominated in the final, beating Simona Halep by 6-3, 7-6(5).

Mats Wilander 

One of the greatest players of the 1980s, Swedish star Mats Wilander won the title four times across a six-year spell.

Wilander defeated the great John McEnroe to claim the title in 1983, and then successfully defended his title with victory over compatriot Anders Jarryd in 1984.

After losing the 1985 final to Boris Becker, the seven-time major winner bounced back to beat Jimmy Connors in the 1986 final, before defeating fellow Swede Stefan Edberg in the 1988 final.

Garbiñe Muguruza

After winning Wimbledon, Spanish tennis star Garbiñe Muguruza conquered the Cincinnati title in 2017. She reigned victorious in matches against Madison Keys and Kuznetsova and in the last four, she beat Pliskova in a rematch of the 2016 semi-final. After powering through some tough bouts early on, she triumphed in her match against Halep 6-1, 6-0, grasping one of the biggest titles of her career.

Novak Djokovic

A three-time winner of the Cincinnati Open, Djokovic finally won his first Masters 1000 title in 2018 in a match against Federer, after losing five finals previously. He then went on to win the title again in 2020, defeating Milos Raonic, and again in 2023 triumphing against Carlos Alcaraz.

Pete Sampras 

Another three-time Cincinnati Open winner, Pete Sampras is recognized by many as the Open Era’s most successful American ATP player. He was victorious against Ivan Lendl in 1992, after losing in the final the year before. Five years later, he won the title once again when he beat Thomas Muster in 1997, and again in 1999 to make it a trifecta when won defeated Pat Rafter.

2025 Cincinnati Open favorites 

The 2025 Cincinnati Open is set to be one to remember. Taking place from the 7th – 18th August 2025, it has returned to its original name ATP Masters 1000, and owners Beemok Capital have guaranteed that it will continue to be held at the Lindner Family Tennis Center. 2024 winner Jannik Sinner will likely head in as favorite in the local Ohio sports betting markets. 

Here are some of the favorites competing this year:

• Coco Gauff (USA)
• Novak Djokovic (SRB)
• Iga Swiatek (ITA)
• Jannik Sinner (POL)
• Carlos Alcaraz (ESP)
• Aryna Sabalenka (BY)
• Alexander Zverev (GER)
• Elena Rybakina (KAZ)
• Daniil Medvedev (RU)
• Jasmine Paolini (ITA)

Conclusion

The 2025 edition will undoubtedly be a spectacular tournament that showcases some of today’s best tennis talents across the world. Whether you’re lucky enough to get tickets to catch all the action firsthand or simply plan on watching the matches at your local sports bar, you’re bound to get engrossed in the competition – tennis fanatic or not. All that’s left to do is pick your favorites to win and sit tight while we look forward to one of this summer’s biggest events.