SAN DIEGO – (May 31, 2022) – The inaugural San Diego Open WTA 500 Tournament, featuring the world’s top women’s professional tennis players, will be played in San Diego this October, tournament officials have announced. The Hologic WTA Tour event will take place Saturday, Oct. 8 through Sunday, Oct. 16 at Barnes Tennis Center located at 4490 W Point Loma Blvd, San Diego, CA 92107.
The tournament will offer $823,000 in prize money and will have a 32-player singles draw and a 16-team doubles draw. Qualifying rounds will be played Oct. 8-9 with Main Draw matches starting October 10 and concluding with the singles and doubles final on Oct. 16.
“We are absolutely thrilled with the return of the WTA to San Diego and the opportunity to host the inaugural San Diego Open WTA 500. The Barnes Tennis Center and our tournament partners, the Southern California Tennis Association Foundation and Octagon, are looking forward to making this an annual event that sports fans can enjoy for years to come,” said Youth Tennis San Diego/Barnes Tennis Center CEO and General Manager Ryan Redondo, who will serve as San Diego Open Tournament Director.
“The main stadium at our tournament venue will have a capacity of 2,000 seats which gives fans a great view of the court from any seat. We are going to have a very strong draw for this event and we’re anticipating a high demand for tickets,” Redondo added. “We will be making announcements in the coming weeks and months in regards to ticket sales, player entries and tournament volunteers.”
“The SCTA Foundation’s mission is to grow tennis in Southern California. Our thanks go out to Octagon and the WTA for allowing professional Women’s tennis to return to San Diego. The Barnes Tennis Center is the perfect place to hold this event and it is sure to energize our tennis community,” said San Diego Open Co-Chairman Bill Kellogg.
The San Diego Open WTA 500 Tournament will mark the return of the WTA to San Diego County, which has a rich history of hosting top-level women’s tennis events dating back to 1971. The most recent WTA tournament was played in Carlsbad, Calif., in 2015.
WTA Grand Slam champions who have won titles in San Diego include Billie Jean King, Tracy Austin, Steffi Graf, Jennifer Capriati, Conchita Martínez, Martina Hingis, Lindsay Davenport, Venus Williams, Mary Pierce, Maria Sharapova, Justine Henin, Svetlana Kuznetsova and Samantha Stosur.
In his two years as Youth Tennis San Diego CEO and General Manager, Redondo and his staff have transformed Barnes Tennis Center into a national tennis destination which offers summer camps, junior and adult tennis programs, outreach and education programs. Throughout the year, the 25-court tennis facility hosts a full calendar of local and regional tournaments, collegiate and high school championships in addition to Sectional and National USTA events, including the USTA Billie Jean King Girls’ 16 & 18 National Championships in August.
After hosting the San Diego Open ATP 250 men’s tournament through a one-year license agreement with the men’s Tour last October and the opportunity to showcase the San Diego Open WTA 500 tournament through a multi-year agreement with the women’s Tour, Barnes Tennis Center has truly become an international tennis destination for the world’s top tennis professionals.
