The Legg Mason Tennis Classic, which the professional tennis tournament in D.C. has been called since 1994, has been officially rebranded the Citi Open, and plans were unveiled Thursday for a new 2,500 seat show court at the tournament's Rock Creek Park site.
But that's not the only change that was made. Beginning in 2012, the Legg Mason Classic will include a WTA tournament.
From the Citi Open's website:
This WTA tournament (which was called the Citi Open and held the week before the then-Legg Mason Tennis Classic at the Tennis Center of College Park, Md., in 2011) will be played simultaneously with the ATP World Tour 500 event at the William H.G. FitzGerald Tennis Center in Rock Creek Park and collectively named the Citi Open.
As Liz Clarke pointed out in the Washington Post Tuesday morning, the event may suffer slightly since its schedule (July 28-August 5) coincides with the Summer Olympics in London. But any move that increases the talent pool coming to play tennis in Washington D.C. each summer is a very good thing.