Philly Open organizers believe the event has the ‘potential to grow into something special’ after strong fan turnout

In the final of the inaugural Ennoble Care Philly Open on Penn’s campus on Saturday, Katie Volynets beat Tereza Valentová, 6-3 and 7-5.

The event marked the return of the WTA to the city after more than two decades. Event organizers Top Notch Management and the Philadelphia Sisters secured a three-year contract for the tournament to be held in the city through 2028, but tournament director Alex Guthrie said the plan is for the Philly Open to become a regular stop on tour.

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“We put a lot of time, energy, and investment into this,” Guthrie told The Inquirer. “We want this. We didn’t invest all this time and energy just to do it for three years. We see this as a 10, 20-year thing. I think this has the potential to grow into something special.”

Guthrie said the organizers weren’t sure what to expect from fans. Crowds at 125-level events fluctuate heavily from session-to-session and tournament-to-tournament, but the WTA was impressed with Philly’s fan attendance, especially for the day sessions.

The tournament sold out its opening day last Sunday, selling 1,500 tickets, and maintained a solid crowds for the remaining sessions. For the final, fans packed the grandstand, the nearby grass hill, and some unticketed even peeked in from a bridge outside the grounds.

“I was so surprised that even the day it rained, the fans stayed all night and watched the match finish,” Volynets said. “That was really impressive to me, and says a lot about the crowd. I also thought that they cheer so well, because they’re so respectful, they clearly know their tennis. They cheered both sides on while still making me feel like a home favorite.”

Hosting the tournament the week before the U.S. Open helped draw a field of several top-100 players, including both finalists (Volynets ranked 91st, while Valentová was 57th). Semifinalist Julia Grabher was a late entry to the field, after a late U.S. Open withdrawal pulled her out of qualifying and straight into the main draw.

“She was already in New York for qualifying, and she texted me, ‘Hey, do you have any wild cards open?’ And a space had literally just opened up for us,” Guthrie said. “If we were anywhere else, she couldn’t just take an hourlong train ride.”

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Some players on tour, Guthrie said, avoid first-year events, to make sure the facilities and management are up to par before committing. After the success of the 2026 edition, he believes it’ll be an easier sell next year.

Working with a new facility at Penn, which hadn’t previously hosted a professional event before, added a few “quirks and challenges,” but ultimately Year 1 was a success among the players.

“I love these kind of courts,” Volynets said. “They’re grippy, so you can play different spins. If you play a slice, it stays low, if you hit topspin, it goes high. I love how the courts accept the spin, I think it makes tennis so fun to play and so fun to watch.”

Organizers have already began conversations with potential sponsors for 2027, and hosted a few prospective sponsors during the week. In order for Philly to attract a larger 250 or 500-level WTA tournament, more sponsorships and funding would be required, according to Guthrie.

But the tournament is on stable footing. The Philadelphia Sisters hope the event will become another permanent installment of women’s sports on the Philly sports calendar.

“From a Year 1 perspective, the foundation was laid very well,” Guthrie said. “Now that it’s happened, and people see what the event is — we were selling something that didn’t exist. Now we have proof of concept, fans know what to expect and sponsors know what to expect.”