CLEVELAND, Ohio – Tennis in the Land is on hiatus until a location with permanent courts is located, its organizers said.
In a newsletter, officials from Topnotch Events, which ran the women’s tournament, thanked fans and sponsors and referred to its “five amazing years in Cleveland.”
“In this moment, it’s crucial for us to emphasize that Cleveland demonstrated support for Tennis in the Land that rivals the community support of any tennis event in the country,” the statement said in part. “The reason the tournament will not be held next summer is not due to lack of fan, sponsor or volunteer support.”
The tournament has existed as a pop-up venue – transforming parking lots into a platform for professional tennis, boasting more than $1.3 million in prize money and more than $10 million in economic impact to the city, organizers said.But building and dismantling the venue “is no longer economically sustainable without a permanent tennis facility and supporting infrastructure,” organizers said.
The tournament evolved in its time in Cleveland. It started in 2021 with its main court at Jacobs Pavilion and tertiary courts on an adjacent parking lot. In 2023, it added pickleball to its programming, and a year after that Rocket Mortgage signed a two-year deal to be the presenting sponsor. Tickets were as low as $25.
In its initial year, tournament director Kyle Ross called Tennis in the Land a “roadmap to the U.S. Open,” since the Cleveland tournament brought in women from all over the world right before that major event.