The 2025 Cincinnati Open Disaster Is Just One Part Of A Bigger Problem!

For context, a retirement in tennis is when a player drops out of a match early. Reasons can be due to injury or anything health-related, and the opposing player is automatically granted the win.

In the 2025 Cincinnati Open, there were plenty of such instances. Right off the bat, according to reports, here is a full list of players who retired due to the heat: Luciano Darderi, Camila Ugo Carabelli, and Jakub Mensik. Other ones were more injury-related.

Nevertheless, having three retirements alone due to heat is a failure on the part of management. Tennis is already a physically demanding sport because it is individual. That also leads to it being the most mentally challenging, and when the heat is a factor, players are not going to be able to perform at their best, reducing the match quality.

The final straw was Jannik Sinner retiring in the final against Carlos Alcaraz. A matchup that every tennis fan l ooks forward to. It’s hard to tell if the heat was the sole reason for his drop out, as he stated he wasn’t feeling well the day before.

Regardless, why would they arrange this match on 3 PM ET on a Monday? Firstly, that is the hottest time of day, and most people will be at work. The timing of this match made no sense, especially since Men’s Final Matches are normally slated on a Sunday.

Who knows, though, Sinner may have still dropped out even if it was at night. Despite that, Cincinnati needs to do better moving forward, or it should consider relocating the tournament to a city that isn’t humid.

A Microcosm Of American Sports

The issues stated above don’t just exist in that tournament, but everywhere in American sports. Leagues care more about generating revenue than providing the best service for their fans. The example above is keeping the Tournament Cincinnati, and one of the reasons is due to the economic benefits. Since Cincinnati only has football, it has a better chance of drawing more people in because of the lack of options.

With the money coming in through the people, they can boost local businesses such a hotels, restaurants, and shops nearby. This wouldn’t work in a city like Denver because the people there have and love their football, basketball, ice hockey, and baseball teams. Tennis would become a low priority in that area.

This greed is seen a lot in the NFL. Games are now less accessible because prime-time games are shown through Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Peacock. People have to buy subscriptions to see games. Not only that, but going to a Super Bowl is nearly impossible. The average price for Super Bowl 59 was $4,000 to $6,500.

Seriously, who is going to pay for that? The NBA does a similar thing, too. Games are seen through Fubo, League Pass, YouTube TV, Hulu, etc. All of these are streaming services.

Similarly, going to their sporting events is nearly impossible as well. A 2025 NBA Finals ticket costs around $1,1547. It’s certainly cheaper than a Super Bowl, but still not very accessible for the common folk.

End Of American Sports Rant

Sports are fun and will always be a big part of the United States. The trend, however, is not favorable for viewership. The focus has shifted to generating revenue, and in return, it has not only been a disservice to the fans but also to the players.

The 2025 Cincinnati Open was a good example of that, and it was a display of the flaws in American sports today.