The road to the US Open starts in the capital. The 2026 Mubadala Citi DC Open runs 27 July to 2 August at the Rock Creek Park Tennis Center — the only combined ATP 500 and WTA 500 tournament on the calendar, and the opening act of the North American hard-court swing.
The storylines
Washington’s dual-tour format is its calling card: a full men’s and women’s draw sharing one site, one week, and two trophies decided on the same finals weekend. Because it’s the first serious hard-court event after the grass and clay summer, it doubles as a form guide — this is where contenders shake off the surface switch and start dialling in the game that has to hold up at the US Open a month later.
The DC hard courts play fast and the summer heat and humidity are a factor in their own right, rewarding players who can serve big and finish points quickly rather than grind out long rallies.
Why it’s worth watching
As the first stop on the US Open Series, Washington sets the tone for the whole North American swing that follows — the Canadian Open, Cincinnati, then the US Open itself. It’s also a tournament with a habit of producing surprise runs and headline wildcards, and the combined field means you get elite men’s and women’s tennis back-to-back on the same courts all week.
When to tune in
Play starts late morning Eastern time and runs through day and night sessions, so UK viewers get afternoon-into-late-night tennis. The Tennis Channel is the primary US broadcaster, Sky Sports Tennis carries it in the UK, and it’s on Tennis TV and the WTA feed in many markets.
If your region doesn’t show it, the free stream linked above covers the DC Open across the show courts, opening rounds through both finals. It slots into a packed stretch: the Hamburg WTA clay event overlaps at the start of the week, and the previous weekend had Anthony Joshua, UFC Abu Dhabi, the F1 Hungarian Grand Prix and the Tour de France finish — guides to all of them are on the site.