My parents have always been huge tennis fans and up until about a year ago, I didn’t really get it. Something about Wimbledon 2023 flipped a switch in me and now I can’t get enough. My dad and I were given tickets to the night session of the DC Mubadala Citi Open on August 2nd and we jumped at the opportunity to go

The experience was exciting from the start. As my dad and I were walking in, we ran into Joey Graziadei and Kelsey Anderson, the most recent Bachelor and his fiancee. They were chatting with another group of people before I spotted them but Kelsey was nice enough to snap a quick selfie with me.

Once we got in we figured we’d get the lay of the land. There was merch right at the entrance which we obviously had to check out. There were lots of cool areas with drinks, food, and even ping pong. There were also TV’s everywhere keeping spectators updated on the action on the courts. 

We headed over to Market Square to grab some dinner. There were plenty of options including chicken sandwiches, burgers, and pizza. My dad had a shrimp po boy and I went with the lobster roll. All the indoor spaces were air-conditioned which was a definite plus. Once the sun went down the weather was much nicer and there was even the occasional breeze. 

After dinner (and a lightning delay) it was time for us to check out the tennis! Since the night session had not yet started on stadium court, we walked over to Harris court to watch Australia’s Jordan Thompson versus USA’s Sebastian Korda, one of my favorite players. We snagged some seats in the third row, laid out our new Citi Open towel on the damp seats, and were ready to go. Korda played great and won 6-4, 6-2. He was interviewed on court afterwards and then stayed for signatures and selfies. 

While we were watching the action on Harris court, the night sessions had started over on stadium court  so we headed that way to check out Aryna Sabalenka versus Victoria Azarenka. There were plenty of deuce games and excitement in this match but in the end Sabalenka beat her compatriot 6-4, 6-4. 

It was then time for the final match. of the day, hometown hero Francis Tiafoe versus Russia’s Andrey Rublev. While there were a few cries of  “Go Rublev”, the crowd was heavily behind Tiafoe and the atmosphere was electric. Great shots by Tiafoe were met with roars from the crowd, as if it was the final of a grand slam and not quarter finals of a 500 level event (which is of course still a great achievement). 

To avoid traffic we did end up leaving after the first set of the men’s match but I didn’t feel like I had missed out on much. It was so cool to see players right in front of me that I’ve seen and cheered for on TV. I fear I am turning into my parents and am already itching to go to my next tennis tournament. 

Check out the Tik Tok I made of the experience!