By Mariana Smithville
CINCINNATI (June 22, 2023) – Former ATP Tour player Todd Martin was introduced as Tournament Director of the Western & Southern Open Thursday.
Martin, who will be the event’s 33rd Tournament Director, assumes the role after serving as CEO of the International Tennis Hall of Fame since 2014.
“As a person who has lived his entire life in the sport of tennis and is a product of the Midwest I am thrilled to have this opportunity at the Western & Southern Open,” Martin said. “I am energized to be part of a team focused on transforming tennis globally and creating real impact in our community with this sport and through this event.”
Martin was ranked as high as No. 4 in the world during his playing days. The winner of eight career singles titles, he was a finalist on 12 occasions, including at the 1994 Australian Open and 1999 US Open. In addition to those two Major finals, he reached the quarterfinals or better at eight other Grand Slam tournaments. He was also a member of Team USA’s 1995 Davis Cup Championship team. He was named the ATP’s Most Improved Player in 1993 and won its Sportsmanship Award twice.
At the Western & Southern Open, Martin was 13-10 in singles with his best result being a run to the quarterfinals in 2000. He was the tournament’s doubles champion in 2002 with James Blake.
During his playing career, Martin was involved in the sport’s governance, leading the ATP’s Player Council as President for eight years.
Following his playing days, Martin stayed active on the ATP Tour as a coach, including stints with two-time Western & Southern Open champion and current World No. 1 Novak Djokovic as well as two-time Western & Southern Open finalist Mardy Fish.
Martin’s tenure at the Hall of Fame in Newport, R.I., included leading an initiative to digitalize the museum’s collection as well as the introduction of fan voting into the Hall’s selection process. His work there was also highlight by the founding of a National Junior Tennis and Learning program at the Hall of Fame and running the annual ATP Tour 250 tournament that is held at the Hall of Fame alongside the induction ceremony.
A product of northeast Ohio and Lansing, Mich., Martin played college tennis at Northwestern.
The Western & Southern Open is one of only five premier events globally to host an ATP Masters 1000 and WTA 1000 tournament in the same week at the same venue, joining Madrid, Miami, Rome and Indian Wells, California.
Since becoming a combined gender, single-week tournament in 2011, the Western & Southern Open has hosted nearly 2 million spectators, including ticket buyers who have traveled to Cincinnati from all 50 states and 40 different countries.
The 2022 singles championships were won by Caroline Garcia and Borna Coric while the doubles titles were claimed by Lyudmyla Kichenok & Jelena Ostapenko and Rajeev Ram & Joe Salisbury.
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COURTESY WESTERN & SOURTHERN OPEN COMMUNICATIONS
