Last summer I had the pleasure of attending a few days of the Mubadala Citi DC Open, which I added onto a weekend trip to Richmond, VA. I can’t recommend the DC Open enough for any tennis fans who live on the east coast. It’s a fun and affordable way to see tennis from top players in both the ATP and WTA, at a fraction of the cost to attend the US Open in New York City.
About the Mubadala Citi DC Open
The Mubadala Citi DC Open (formerly just the Citi Open – Mubadala was added on when the tournament merged with the Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic previously held in San Jose, CA) was co-founded by Arthur Ashe, Donald Dell, and John A. Harris in 1969. It’s held every year for one week from late July into early August, at the William H.G. FitzGerald Tennis Center in Rock Creek Park in northern DC. It is the only combined ATP and WTA 500-level tournament in the world and draws top players.
Tickets were extremely affordable – I went for 3 days with a stadium ticket, and what I spent on tickets for 3 days combined was still less than what I spent for a single day session ticket in Arthur Ashe Stadium for the US Open!
Getting There and Where to Stay
I did this trip with a car since it was a part of a road trip to Richmond, but if I were to attend again I would likely take a train down from Philadelphia, since DC has great Amtrak connectivity in the east coast corridor. I stayed at the Hotel Silver Spring in Silver Spring, Maryland and took public transit to get to the event, since parking at the DC Open is paid and first come first serve, and I was able to keep my car parked near my hotel for an affordable daily rate. There was a bus that left a few blocks from the hotel and dropped me right near the stadium in 10-15 minutes. I had also considered staying in the Chevy Chase, MD area because in past years the tournament has run shuttling from a parking lot in Chevy Chase. But I would absolutely stay in Silver Spring if I went again, it was perfect for my needs and easy to get to the tournament.
Attending the 2023 Open
I attended Monday through Wednesday for the first few rounds of the tournament to maximize the amount of tennis I was able to see, and boy did I see a lot of great tennis. I was on the grounds from the time the grounds opened, until play ended around 11pm or so each night. The grounds consist of the main Stadium court, Grandstand and Harris courts, and two additional match courts, as well as seven practice courts where you can catch the players putting in some practice time right in front of you. The DC Open is frequented by many star American players, so I had the opportunity to see Coco Gauff, Taylor Fritz, Madison Keys, Ben Shelton, and Frances Tiafoe among others.
Seeing Frances Tiafoe was one of the highlights of the tournament for me – he grew up in Hyattsville, MD in the greater DC area so the DC Open is essentially his home tournament. The crowd in stadium court under the lights watching his close match against Aslan Karatsev was absolutely electric.
Another highlight of my DC Open experience was finally getting the chance to see Sir Andy Murray play live after watching him on TV since I was a kid. I got a lil’ emotional.
The fan experience around the DC Open grounds is probably one of my favorites out of the professional tournaments I’ve been to. The grounds are very intimate and the players walk the same grounds to get to their matches, the practice courts, and fitness center, so there are lots of opportunities to encounter your favorite players and maybe even grab some autographs.
There are lots of great food options around the grounds too, from individual stands to the Market Square pavilion which offers a food court with plenty of seating.
I had a great time attending the Mubadala Citi DC Open and with it being so affordable and so close to Philly, I’m sure I’ll be back again sometime soon!
C to Shining C 
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