For years Dallas-Fort Worth cultivated a reputation as a center for professional tennis success. From the 1960s through 1980s, it was the home base of Lamar Hunt’s World Championship Tennis.
WCT produced tournaments around the U.S. featuring the sport’s brightest stars, including Arthur Ashe, John McEnroe and Boris Becker. The season ended annually with a marquee tournament in Dallas.
Jeff Turpin’s family saw it all up close. “(We have) been involved in tennis for over 60 years,” he says. His dad, Jack Turpin, was an All-America at Rice before founding the legendary T Bar M Racquet Club in Dallas and around Texas. Jeff’s two brothers played at Rice and SMU respectively.
Jeff was an All-America at SMU before playing four years on the ATP Tour. “Tennis has been foundational to our family,” says Jeff, who, as a kid, served as a ball boy for the two Ken Rosewall-Rod Laver WCT Finals, which many hardcore fans consider the greatest matches ever played.
But when WCT shuttered, big-time tennis in Big D disappeared. That is until 2022 when the Dallas Open moved to town. The event seemed uniquely positioned for fresh success, as one of just 10 ATP Tour events held in the U.S. that year.
Every great sporting event needs a face. For The Dallas Open it was tennis star John Isner, a Highland Park resident. Isner’s goal was to make The Dallas Open a mainstay on the tour. “Everyone knows how big tennis is at the recreational level,” says Isner. “I think when you can partner the highest level of professional tennis with all the people that love to play our sport, it's going to be a perfect mix for the DFW area.”
Fast-forward three years: Local tennis fans will tell you The Dallas Open has revved up. The latest leap takes place on February 1-9 when the tournament moves from the intimate confines of SMU’s Styslinger/Altec Tennis Complex to The Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, home of the Dallas Cowboys.
“The Dallas Open had three great years at SMU and should only get better (at The Star) with higher ranked players, a bigger venue and more people able to watch in person,” says Turpin. “Tennis players love to play in front of a full house.”
The move to the Frisco arena was tied to an upgrade from an ATP 250 to an ATP 500 event. “There are requirements from the ATP on stadium size, seating capacity, player amenities, and this was the venue that was able to meet all of those requirements,” says Tournament Director Peter Lebedevs.
It also boasts its most competitive field ever, representing a bold shift that has attracted top-tier talent like two of the world’s top American tennis players, Taylor Fritz and Frances Tiafoe, who committed last October to compete in this year’s event. They join 2024 Dallas Open Champion Tommy Paul, the world’s No. 12 player, and Casper Ruud, the world’s No. 8 player, both confirmed to compete.
“The first three years at SMU were incredible,” says Isner. Due to the tournament’s success and the growth that DFW can (provide) tennis, the tournament was awarded a 500-level event, which upped the stakes, including more prize money. But there is a minimum amount of seating that ATP 500 level tournaments must adhere to, and, Isner says, unfortunately, SMU could not provide due to space restrictions inside their indoor tennis center.
The 2025 version of The Dallas Open offers players an opportunity to increase their ATP rankings while competing for a share of $2.8 million. “Every February, the Dallas Open 500 is in town,” says Isner. “We want this tournament to become a staple in everyone's calendar”
Turpin believes a big tournament would help regain leadership status. “It is a worldwide sport and growing again in the U.S.”
What about a vision for the future? Where do organizers expect The Dallas Open to be a decade down the road?
“I see us with a larger stadium, and we can do that in The Ford Center … by changing the way we put the court together,” says Lebedevs. “I also see us attracting even more of the top 10 players in the world, because they will see what we're able to provide to the players, the amenities … everything.”
“We want this tournament to become a staple in everyone's calendar.” – John Isner