The ATP/WTA Western & Southern Open, which returns to Cincinnati's Lindner Family Tennis Center on Saturday, "remains a rare gem on the tennis landscape," according to a front-page piece by Shannon Russell of the CINCINNATI ENQUIRER. It is one of "only five events in the world beyond Grand Slams that unites the top professional players from the men's and women's tours in the same week at the same venue." Besides being a "mandatory stop for the ATP World Tour and WTA, the tournament has also made a name for itself in terms of Midwest hospitality and fans' accessibility to players." ESPN analyst Mary Joe Fernandez said, "I love the Western & Southern. It's one of the coziest tournaments out there. ... You get to be up close with all the top players, with all the stars." Russell noted the tennis center underwent $23M in "renovations in recent years and now has turned its focus to spectators." Amenities include "site-wide Wi-Fi, a new app called WSOpen NOW ... 14 food vendors, bars serving everything from champagne to margaritas, a wine garden, celebrity chef demonstrations and a 20,000 square-foot retail plaza." Another perk is autographs, as players "often stop to scrawl their names on fans' oversized souvenir tennis balls after leaving practice courts, or in the breezeway where they enter the Paul Flory Player Center." Tournament Dir & COO Vince Cicero said, "If anyone wants an autograph during the tournament, it's easy to get between those accessible points. I think that's extremely unique. You'll see a lot of other tennis venues where you're watching practices from a distance. We always to try to make that a real calling card" (CINCINNATI ENQUIRER, 8/13).
