Cincinnati 2026 -ATP Masters 1000 Preview

This is my Preview of the Masters 1000 of Cincinnati.

Speed Data

 Here are the statistics from the last five years: 

• 73.8% of points won on the first serve
• 81.8% of service games held
• 0.56 aces/game
• 0.24 tie-breaks/set

Based on this data, Cincinnati is played on very quick hard courts.

The altitude of 235 m above sea level provides a slight boost to ball speed.

In 2025, the courts and the entire campus of the Cincinnati Masters 1000 were fully refurbished and significantly upgraded.The tournament underwent a major $260 million transformation, which included a complete overhaul of the grounds and facilities. Highlights of the renovation include:

• New Courts: The number of courts increased from 17 in 2023 to 31, including 10 new practice courts and a brand-new 2,000-seat stadium.
  
• New Surface and Colors: All courts received a fresh coat of paint with a new two-tone blue color scheme.

The percentageof points won on the first serve in 2025 was 74.1%, in line with the average of the last years, so it doesn't seem that the speed of the courts changed.

Previous winners

2025: Alcaraz d. Sinner

2024: Sinner d. Tiafoe

2023: Djokovic d. Alcaraz

2022: Coric d. Tsitsipas

2021: Zverev d. Rublev

Federer has won in Cincinnati 7 times; Djokovic, Agassi and Sampras, three times.

Weather

Cincinnati over the next 10 days should be hot and humid, especially this weekend, with highs around 28–35°C (82–95°F) and lows of 18–23°C (64–73°F). Humidity will generally be around 60–75% during the day, higher overnight, while winds should remain light at roughly 0–13 km/h (0–8 mph). There is some risk of showers and thunderstorms through Monday, followed by a generally drier, slightly cooler and less humid period.

Player Statements

Sinner, 2025: "Here, and I repeat, it's really difficult to play tennis. It's always windy, and we saw today how the wind can pick up. It can rain and a moment later the sun comes out, you never know what's going to happen, but you have to stay mentally focused. I think I tried to capitalize on the opportunities I had today, and it was a really positive match."

Alcaraz, 2025: "This year it's slower than last year and that's good for me. I reached a final here, I achieved good results, I learned a lot from the matches I played here. It was a good tournament for my career. Last year I struggled a bit. But it's a tournament where I did well, where I feel good playing."

Shelton, 2025: "Playing tennis isn’t easy here. It’s fast and a lot of the courts are different speeds. It’s live conditions and it’s hot. To get that acclimation factor to the heat and at the same time feel good on the court about a lot of the shots I’m going to need at the late stages of this tournament. It’s important to get a few extra minutes of intentional work so that’s something that I’ve stuck with. Doing as much as my body can handle and trying to improve every day."

"Grandstand is always a fast court, definitely faster than the others. It can present some challenges when you’re playing such a pure, flat ball striker like Roberto."

Rublev: "At night it’s much different conditions. It’s much slower and much easier to control the ball. Obviously it helped me against a player like Comesana who has a great serve and great legs. He can play very fast as well using the speed of the opponent and changing the rhythm with the slice. So for me those conditions were perfect because I had much more time. I was able to return much more aggressive than in the previous match and these night conditions helped me a lot and I was able to hit really well.”

Griekspoor: "I'm playing another scandalous match. I'm playing at a scandalous level. And Medjedovic did a lot of things well. I always struggle here in Cincinnati. I can't play with these balls. I trained really well for a week. But then the competition court is suddenly ten times faster than all the training courts. That doesn't help either."

Zverev, 2025: "I always thought that the American series of tournaments takes place on quite fast surfaces, especially Cincinnati has always been fast. Now it is an extremely slow surface. I am not sure what the idea behind this decision is, because in New York we will most likely play again on a faster court. Frankly, I am not a fan of it, but I will try to show everything I am capable of here and continue to develop what I started in Toronto." He is yet to play a match and has only practiced so far. Griekspoor said this about the practice courts: "...the competition court is suddenly ten times faster than all the training courts."

Paul, 2025: "I think it’s pretty quick and bouncy — definitely not slow," said T. Paul. "People who say it's not fast are crazy."

Draper, 2024: "I think it’s the fastest court I’ve ever played on in my life, honestly. And the ball travels so fast through the court so it’s hard to play good tennis. In the first set I really struggled."

Alcaraz, 2024: "I’ve been practicing well and feeling great, but it felt like another sport playing on the Centre Court today. The balls felt much faster. I just couldn’t control my serve.". "The courts here are a bit faster than in Toronto."

Sinner, 2024: "The court is a bit faster. Last year, the ball bounced more. These kinds of things can change very quickly. It also depends on whether you play during the day or at night. The court is quite slippery and fast so the flatter you can play sometimes, the better."

Djokovic, 2023: “It’s definitely some of the quickest hard-court conditions we play on. The ball is really lively and tough to control. But if you serve well and hit your spots well, it gives you a great advantage. I know that’s the key.”

Medvedev, 2023: “ If I don't hit the perfect shot, the ball could inexplicably die in the net. This is also what I felt in the first set.”

Musetti, 2023: “The balls were jumping quite high.”

Fritz, 2023: "These were really difficult conditions. It’s a combination, the courts are fast and bouncy, while the ball, after a couple of games, all the felt comes off the ball and they feel impossible to bring down. Everything wants to fly. Plus it was super windy.”

Medvedev,2022: “Cincinnati fast courts and fast balls and I have always liked it.”

Kyrgios, 2022: “Conditions are very different to Montreal, it's more lively, harder to keep the ball in.”

Alcaraz, 2022: "I think this court is fast and it's difficult to play against McDonald's flat ball. The ball slides a lot."

Summary

Conditions are very fast.

The balls used are like bullets through the air. They are difficult to control, especially on hot and dry days. They jump high.

The fact that Federer has won here so many times (7) is further proof of the speed of the court.

Court suitable for big servers and hitters.

The aggregate numbers still point to fast conditions, with no obvious structural change after the 2025 refurbishment.

But Cincinnati may be a tournament where a single "court speed" label is particularly misleading. Court assignment, time of day, heat, wind and the difference between practice and match courts can materially change playing conditions.

But overall, Cincinnati is QUICK. The altitude of around 250 m above sea level also helps the ball travel slightly faster than usual.

Draws

 Here’s the link to the tournament draw, which you can check for updates at any time:

• Main draw: https://www.protennislive.com/posting/2026/422/mds.pdf
• Qualifying Draw: https://www.protennislive.com/posting/2026/422/qs.pdf