Coming back to DC is familiar now. On my drive down from New York I realized this is my fourth year in a row. First was 2023, when I randomly decided to drive down after waking up early on finals weekend and got to see Coco Gauff and Dan Evans win that year.
Then came 2024, when Ground Pass was in its infancy and I didn’t have a media credential, but I still got to interview newly crowned Wimbledon champions Henry Patten and Harri Heliovaara (DC is where their nickname Double H comes from) and Mattia Bellucci after his qualifying match, in the first ever episodes of Meet the Players.
It’s also where, last year, I got to interview Venus Williams for the first time. A full circle moment in my tennis history.
But enough nostalgia. We are here now, and the DC Open doesn’t need me to sell it. In fact, a few people would rather I kept this our little secret. There is no better way to describe this tournament than I did in our guide: it’s the mini US Open. You get the same level of players and matches on grounds a quarter of the size, for cheaper, and less crowded. Players share the walkways with fans, who stop them for photos and autographs unless they are heading to a match. It’s a summer festival with some tennis on the side.
While qualifying matches were happening around the grounds, with Daria Kasatkina, Cruz Hewitt, and the Svajda brothers all making it to the final round of qualifying, it was media day for the top ranked players and Venus Williams.
A year after making her return to tennis, she is back where it all started, reflective about the year she has had and what might come next.
Ben Shelton was in and was asked about his topsy turvy year, one where he has won his most titles in a single season and yet had his worst results at the slams.
Taylor Fritz is managing his knee. Frances Tiafoe talked about his doubles exploits at the DC Open and how he would like to play more, but managing singles and doubles is not sustainable.
The audio from the press conferences is below for paying subscribers. Thank you so much for supporting Ground Pass.
Before I even got on site today, Off Season DC went into production. This one will be a doubles special with Australian Open champions Christian Harrison and Neal Skupski.
But they are not the only members of Team Off Season I am seeing this week. I caught up with Hailey and Ethan below.
It’s been a long first day on and off site. Day 1 down. See you tomorrow.
