The Dallas Open tennis tournament, part of the ATP Tour, is being played this week at SMU’s Styslinger/Altec Tennis Complex.
The tournament has been held since 1975 and was originally played in Memphis before moving to New York in 2018 and then Dallas last year. It is one of only 10 tournaments held in the United States and the only one played indoors.
Last year’s tournament was the first professional tennis tournament held in Dallas since 1983.
“I think it’s really exciting for a lot of different reasons,” Grant Chen, SMU men’s tennis coach, told The Dallas Express.
“Number one, community engagement — to be able to allow the city of Dallas to be able to enjoy the highest level of professional tennis is so wonderful,” he added.
“Dallas is a vibrant tennis community that really enjoys and thrives, between leagues and junior programs,” he continued. “There’s so many different facets of how I think it really helps elevate the game, elevate the sport of tennis and the exposure [it gets].”
SMU has one alumnus and four current players from its men’s tennis program participating in the tournament.
Antonio Muniz-Hidalgo lost in the qualifying round to Gabriel Diallo. Adam Neff and Pranav Kumar are participating in the doubles tournament, and Liam Krall faces Radu Albot in the singles bracket on Tuesday.
The alumnus, Nate Lammons, is the No.44 doubles player on the tour, competing in the doubles tournament with his partner, Jackson Withrow.
The rest of the tournament field includes the ATP’s No.8 player Taylor Fritz, No.27 Denis Shapovalov, and No.39 John Isner.
Last year’s champion, Reilly Opelka, is not participating because of an injury.
The tournament will give a total of $792,980 to players in winnings, depending on how they place. Prizes range from $7,600 for players who reach the first round to $107,770 for the champion.
Players will also receive between zero and 250 ranking points based on their results.
The tournament officially began on Monday and runs through February 12.
Its first and second rounds are being played through Thursday. Quarterfinals and semifinals will take place on Friday and Saturday, and the championship is on Sunday.
The action can be seen throughout the week on the Tennis Channel.
Those interested can purchase tickets for the entire week or for single sessions on Dallas Open’s website.
