There are approximately 87 million tennis players in the world. Now imagine getting to watch in person the top eight of them play against each other in one of the biggest tournaments of the year. This will soon become a reality for many tennis fans in DFW.

Earlier this year, SMU hosted the Dallas Open, which was the first professional tennis event held in the DFW area since 1989. Seven months later, Fort Worth is bringing something even bigger and better. The Women’s Tennis Association Finals, which started back in 1972, will be held in Fort Worth at Dickies Arena. The WTA Finals is a tennis event held at the end of the tennis calendar season and hosts the top eight women’s singles players and doubles teams in the world. The WTA Finals is no stranger to the United States, having previously been hosted in Boca Raton, Los Angeles, New York City, and Oakland. Now it is Fort Worth’s turn to host the best women’s tennis players in the world.

“In the summer I was contacted by an industry,” Matt Homan, President and General Manager of Dickies Arena, said. “[They] started asking me about availability.”

Dickies Arena came to an agreement around Labor Day weekend to host the WTA Finals, and are now expecting a big turnout for the event.

“I anticipate we will have close to 30,000-35,000 people in the building during the week, and we’re still seeing ticket sales increase,” Homan said.

Out of the thousands going to the tournament, many in the FWCD community plan to be there, too, including Head of School Eric Lombardi.

“I am particularly looking forward to the doubles [matches},” Lombardi said. “They just don’t get much air time on television and the four people at the net rallies are incredible. I’m also excited to see the singles matches in person because it is always true that when you see them in person, you’re blown away by the players’ power and precision.”

Others will also get to experience this high level of tennis in person, one being Marco Olmos ‘24, a tennis player at FWCD.

“I’m really happy that we’re having it here in Fort Worth,” Olmos said. “This is the cream of the crop.”

Behind all of the buzz surrounding the tournament, the team at Dickies Arena has been putting in countless hours into preparing for the tournament while also hosting several other events prior to the WTA Finals.

“It’s a big event,” Homan said. “Between ticketing, catering, and marketing, well over a couple hundred hours [has been put into the preparations].”

The tournament itself is expected to be a big hit, along with other events leading up to the tournament, including a Draw Party at the Stockyards on the Friday before the tournament and a Media Day event the day after the Draw Party. 

With many people excited to see the top tennis players in the world in person, the WTA Finals is expected to be a big hit amongst the Fort Worth community.

For information about match schedules, seating, and ticket prices, use this link.