Several big-name players pulled out of last year’s event, causing ticket sales to be a bit slower this yeargetty images
The nine-day attendance total for the ATP/WTA Western & Southern Open was 194,035, falling "just 338 shy of last year’s second-best all-time attendance," according to Steve Watkins of the CINCINNATI BUSINESS COURIER. The tournament wrapped up on Sunday with Novak Djokovic and Kiki Bertens claiming the titles in front of a "full house that marked the 14th sellout in the event’s 16 sessions" at the Lindner Family Tennis Center outside Cincinnati. However, comparisons to last year's event are not "completely apples to apples." Western & Southern Open CEO & Tournament Dir Andre Silva said that some rain checks from "rained-out events last year were used this year, affecting sales to the Thursday session." That also "impacted sales of mini-packages for the highly popular Wednesday and Thursday sessions." Several stars "pulled out of last year’s event, causing ticket sales to be a bit slower at the start of this year." Saturday night’s session, "highlighted by two semifinal matches, was one of the two non-sellouts, although it was close to a full house." Silva said that Saturday night session is "always a challenge." The all-time attendance total of "just more than 199,000 was set in 2015" (BIZJOURNALS.com, 8/20).
