“We feel strongly that a Sunday final will deliver the best tournament experience” - Cincinnati Open final reverting back to Sunday from 2026

The Cincinnati Open has reverted its final back to a Sunday after two years on the bounce being hosted on a Monday.

The reason these finals were played at the start of the week was due to the schedule demands. The Canadian Open was played just beforehand, with the US Open swiftly following after. There is not much rest for the players, and this is dampened by the tournament increasing from one week to 14 days of action. It makes fitting in all the matches a very challenging task. It was not just this event which saw an unorthodox finish date. The Canadian Open had its finals on a Thursday as the ATP and WTA tried to fit in all the matches in.

The decision has now been reversed in Cincinnati, and the finals will go back to a Sunday starting in 2026. “We feel strongly that a Sunday final will deliver the best tournament experience.” said Tournament Director Bob Moran. “We appreciate the ATP and WTA Tours working with us to make this change, which will benefit our attendees, partners, players and global broadcast audience.”

The event will begin on Tuesday, 11th August 2026 with the qualifying rounds and culminate on Sunday, 23rd August. The 2026 US Open will be competed 31st August to 13th September, while the Canadian Open will take place from 2nd August to 13th August.

The change is in the wake of schedule complaints from the players. The finals were directly before the revamped US Open mixed doubles. The event started on Tuesday, 19th August while the finals in Cincinnati were competed on Monday, 18th August. This caused a lot of people to question why the final should be played on a Monday, leaning towards the more conventional Sunday final utilised by many other tournaments.

This scheduling had implications for the doubles event at Flushing Meadows. While Iga Swiatek and Carlos Alcaraz managed to make the trip across the States, Jannik Sinner had to abandon his ambitions in competing alongside Katerina Siniakova. There was a lot of talk from many players, former pros, pundits and fans on when these events were scheduled. It also highlights the congestion on the current calendar. With this being a mandatory 1000 event, many of the top players travelled out to compete in it as preparation for the all-important US Open.

The news has been met with positive reviews from former tennis player Brad Gilbert. "Great call by the tournament. Monday final wasn't good for anyone," tweeted the former world number four on X.

A very anti-climax final took place in the 2025 event between Alcaraz and Sinner, with the pair once again set to go toe-to-toe on the tennis court. However, after the first five games went the Spaniard’s way, Sinner called it a day. He cited illness as the reason why he could not complete the final, abruptly halting a disappointing spectacle for the fans.

The women’s matchup was much more entertaining. Swiatek continued her improved form as she got the better of Jasmine Paolini in straight sets. In a match full of breaks of serve, it was the six-time Grand Slam champion who was able to preserve her advantage the best to go and win her maiden title in Cincinnati.

The event had a new-look to it with $260 million of investments transforming the Lindner Family Tennis Center as the event prepared to hold a 96-player tournament. This caused it to be named the ATP Masters 1000 tournament of the Year, with huge recognition for the work done to the prestigious event.