- Tuesday, August 1, 2023

It’s tennis week here in Washington, as the Mubadala Citi DC Open returns to Rock Creek Park.

If that name sounds like a mouthful, it is. It’s the byproduct of Washington’s long-standing tournament combining with the former Mubadala Silicon Valley women’s tournament. The move makes Washington now the only combined 500-level event in the world for men’s and women’s tennis.

The tournament is bigger than ever, and we tackle it from multiple angles on this edition of District of Sports. Mubadala Citi DC Open chairman Mark Ein joins me first to talk about how he’s grown the event after taking it over in 2019, his future plans for the event, and what fans can expect at the Fitzgerald Tennis Center this year.

And for a look at what the tennis stars in the District might experience this week, I talked to tournament physician Dr. George Branche, a local orthopedic surgeon now in his 32nd year providing medical support to the open, on the physical training and conditioning that goes into preparing for playing tennis in D.C.’s notorious summer heat.

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