“Oh my god, it’s insane. Honestly, when I first came here I was like, ‘what’s going on?’ I was like, ‘where am I?’” gasped Aryna Sabalenka, capturing the awe that has swept through the tennis world over Cincinnati’s $260 million transformation. This monumental investment, one of the most ambitious moves in recent Masters history, has reshaped the Ohio tournament into a glittering stage for world-class tennis. Just a day after Jannik Sinner hoisted the 2024 trophy, everything felt new, electric. And now, as the upgrades continue to ignite conversation across the sport, Coco Gauff has made her feelings crystal clear about the changes. Curious?

In her Cincinnati opener, No. 2 seed Coco Gauff delivered a clean, no-fuss performance, dismantling Wang Xinyu 6-3, 6-2 in just 70 minutes. The win made her the fifth American in the PIF WTA Rankings Top 50 to advance to the third round, joining a formidable national contingent of eight. But while her on-court composure was undeniable, it was the post-match press conference that truly lit up the conversation, where she was asked about the tournament’s sweeping changes and pointed out the one that had stolen her attention the most.

“It’s been really cool. Literally, when I talked to you guys last time, I had got out of the car and came straight to the press conference room. So, I’ve now been able to explore it. Yeah, I said on the tennis channel, my favorite is like the unlimited food,” she laughed. 

She later elaborated with warmth, “I just, and they had that here before, but I don’t know, just having acai bowls and smoothies and all of that has been cool, but also just the space and the facilities here are great. Like just having space to be alone. I feel like a lot of times these tournaments, we see each other all the time.” For Gauff, Cincinnati had solved a problem many events overlook, the overstimulation that comes with constant proximity. 

Here, players could breathe. “If you want to see people, you can go to the dining area and talk. If you want to be by yourself, there are a lot of places in the locker room to chill and just around to chill. And then the paddle and just more fun stuff to do, like while we’re hanging out and waiting.”

Then came the appreciation, laced with gratitude for the visionaries behind the $260 million transformation. “And I think it’s great to have in the practice court. I think I haven’t had any problems like getting practice scores or practice time. So, I really credit the tournament and those who invested in this event for doing that because it means a lot to us players, and hopefully, the fans appreciate it as well,” she said. It was more than praise, it was recognition that Cincinnati had set a new standard for what a tournament experience could be.

The transformation began almost the moment last year’s tournament ended. On the very next Monday morning, the Lindner Family Tennis Center became a canvas for reinvention. Fueled by a massive investment from the City of Mason, Warren County, and the State of Ohio, the venue was reborn, its size doubled to more than 40 acres, crafted to offer fans and players an experience stitched together like a tapestry of sport and spectacle.

In just 328 days, one of the world’s grandest tennis tournaments evolved into something almost mythical, a place where competition collides with the leisure of an amusement park. Where once players walked into a sprawling parking lot dotted with trailers for credentials, stringing, and logistics, now rises The Clubhouse, a colossal 56,000-square-foot sanctuary for the sport’s warriors.

Step inside and you feel the pulse of luxury meeting performance, two pristine padel courts, vast sweeps of synthetic turf (72,000 square feet of it) softening the grounds, and corners designed for both battle and respite. It’s a citadel dressed for champions.

The old Performance Center, once forced to house the lounge, dining, fitness, and locker rooms all at once, has been reborn into a space worthy of the tour’s elite. Every brick, every detail hums with purpose.

And through it all, Coco Gauff finds herself not only speaking of these upgrades but also heralding the golden era of U.S. women’s tennis, a renaissance she believes has fueled the sport’s meteoric rise in America. The transformation isn’t just in the buildings. It’s in the air. It’s in the game.

Coco Gauff reflects on Cincinnati triumph and U.S. tennis rise

Two years have passed since Coco Gauff first lifted the WTA 1000 trophy in Cincinnati, a moment that lit the spark for an even greater blaze. That summer of 2023, her triumph in Ohio didn’t just add silverware to her cabinet; it reshaped her destiny. Just weeks later, in September, the American teenager stormed to her maiden Grand Slam crown at the US Open, answering the expectations that had long swirled around her with the force of a champion.

Now, she returns to Cincinnati in 2025, chasing the sweet taste of victory once again. Standing on the same courts that ignited her ascent, Gauff looked back on that breakthrough moment with vivid clarity. “It gave me the belief that I could win a Slam,” she admitted. “I was searching for a big title; I’d been on tour for a long time and people had those expectations, so for me it meant a lot. It was a great statement tournament and led me to believe that I could beat top players.”

That belief proved prophetic. From the roars of Flushing Meadows to the clay courts of Roland Garros earlier this year, Gauff has carved her name twice into the Grand Slam roll of honor. Only the Australian Open and Wimbledon remain to complete her sweep of tennis’s most prestigious prizes, a feat that, at just 21, feels less like a dream and more like an inevitable chapter yet to be written.

Her rise hasn’t been a solo march. Gauff’s success has helped restore U.S. women’s tennis to a golden glow, with her recent surge to world No.2 placing her alongside Jessica Pegula (No.4), Madison Keys (No.6), and Amanda Anisimova (No.8). Just beyond them waits Emma Navarro at No.11. For Gauff, this wave of American firepower carries a beauty far beyond the numbers. 

“That’s the beautiful thing about being an American – all of us look different,” she said. “We have biracial, black, white [players], all types of representation for girls and guys to look up to in the top 10, or close to the top 10. That’s something beautiful about our country, how diverse it is, and I hope that in this sport it continues to grow.”

And so, with her first step in Cincinnati already taken, a gritty victory over Wang Xinyu in the Round of 64, Gauff now stares down her next hurdle. Across the net on Tuesday will stand No.32 seed Dayana Yastremska, fresh from a hard-fought 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 triumph over Viktoriya Tomova.

The stage is set, the crowd will roar, and the echoes of 2023 will hang heavy in the air. The question now is simple: can Coco Gauff strike again and keep the American flame blazing bright in Ohio?