Delray Beach Open is a Tennis Fan's Playground
Feb 07, 2025
Delray Beach knows good tennis and good parties. Put them together and you’ve got a great tennis party for 10 days at the Delray Beach Open, February 7-16. Whether you are a hard-core tennis fan, a competitor, a recreational player or just someone who enjoys good food and fun on Atlantic Avenue, this ATP tournament is your ticket in February.
It’s the place to see world-class players up close, like world no. 4 and US Open finalist Taylor Fritz who is looking to win a historic third straight title in downtown Delray Beach. Right behind him is world no. 9 player and Boca resident Tommy Paul, last year’s runner-up and winner of three other ATP Tour titles.
Above: Taylor Fritz. Source: Delray Beach Open.
Last year, 20-year-old Alex Michelsen became the youngest American man to finish in the world’s Top 50 since Andy Roddick in 2002, the same year Roddick reached the Delray Beach final. With two ATP finals under his belt Michelsen is on his way to becoming a force on the Tour. He is expected to be in the field along with Italian Matteo Arnaldi who had two wins over Top 10 players last year, one coming against Fritz. Might he be the one who stops Fritz in Delray? That would be a rematch to watch.
Do you like to spot up-and-coming players so you can tell your tennis friends you knew them before they were famous? Knowledgeable tennis fans keep an eye on the qualifying matches on Opening Weekend. These are hard-fought matches where up-and-comers are trying to make their breakthrough to the ATP Tour.
Three qualifiers have gone on to win the whole tournament – including Kei Nishikori, who won in 2008 ranked No. 244 and later reached No. 4 in the world and a US Open final. Out with injuries the last few years, he reached his first final in six years this month in Hong Kong, defeating three former Top 10 players along the way. Nishikori will make his return to the Delray Beach Open where his career first took off. It will be his first trip back to the event in 11 years.
Above: Reilly Opelka. Source: Delray Beach Open.
Speaking of comebacks, Delray resident Reilly Opelka, the 2020 champion and 2022 finalist who played just one match in two years from mid-2022 to mid-2024 due to injuries, defeated 24- time Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic in straight sets earlier this month in Brisbane, Australia enroute to his first final in nearly three years. He also defeated 2024 ATP Most Improved Player Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard and No. 37 Arnaldi. Opelka will return to the DBO for the first time since setting the record for most aces in a tournament, serving up 99 in 2022.
Another big return to the beach is former DBO champion and US Open winner Juan Martin del Potro for the Opening Weekend Legends event! Alongside other Legends he’ll face off against the Bryan brothers, the best doubles team of all time who won 16 Grand Slam titles and six DBO trophies. French Open champs Luke and Murphy Jensen, Delray singles champions Sam Querrey, Jack Sock, Tommy Haas and Xavier Malisse, and local pro Jesse Levine will round out a stellar Legends weekend.
Above: Juan Martin del Potro. Source: Delray Beach Open.
Since most junior and recreational players play doubles, they will find no better teacher than watching world-class doubles specialists in person at the DBO. The quick pace of the points and the extraordinary poaching volleys might make you rethink your game. Bring your partner and watch a doubles masterclass.
The Delray Beach Open has seen multiple world No. 1 doubles players and Grand Slam winners grace its courts, and DBO teams have gone on to qualify for the year-end ATP Tour Finals as one of the year’s best eight teams. Among them are two-time DBO doubles champion teams Marcelo Arevalo/Jean-Julien Rojer, and Mark Woodforde/Todd Woodbridge, as well as one- time DBO champions Mark Knowles/Daniel Nestor, and Leander Paes/Nenad Zimonjic.
Maybe you dream of playing with current or former pro players. There’s a Fantasy Experience for you. Enjoy a clinic led by Legends, play with the current pros in the ATP Pro-Am, or enjoy a combination of the clinic, a party and on-court seats with the Ultimate DBO Fantasy Experience.
Above: The Bryan brothers and the Jensen brothers. Source: Delray Beach Open.
When it comes to tickets, there is not a bad seat in the Delray Beach Stadium & Tennis Center, especially with this year’s addition of more than 1,000 new chairback seats to replace most of the bleacher seating. It’s a glorious court for a tennis fan to watch the world’s best. But if you want to get as close as humanly possible to the action, you can sit ON THE COURT in a shaded lounge chair. Or maybe you want the convenience of food service right to your seat at the new Mezzanine tables, or the shade of a Veranda seat. Lots of choices are available for both individual sessions and full series packages at www.DelrayBeachOpen.com.
Looking for discounts to this world-class tennis party? Seniors 55+ get BOGO tickets (buy one, get one) for sessions 2, 5 and 9, and kids ages 3-12 get half-price reserved seats every day and night until the final. Complimentary tickets are offered to military, first responders and nurses on Feb. 8 and to teachers on Feb. 9. Donate 10 cans of food on Feb. 10 to receive a free ticket to the day session and support the KOP Mentoring Network.
In addition to the pro matches, the tennis center will be buzzing with participant activities on the weekends. Starting with the Mixed Doubles Mega Mixer on Feb. 7, the USTA Florida Kids Day and Love Serving Autism clinic on Feb. 8, the ACEing Autism clinic on Feb. 9 and the USTA Wheelchair Tennis Showcase on Feb. 15, the tournament welcomes these groups to the courts.
Above: The Bryan brothers playing at the DBO. Source: Delray Beach Open.
Of course the best doubles team in history, Bob and Mike Bryan, won the DBO six times. For a bit of tennis nostalgia, how about watching champions from the past in the Opening Weekend Legends event? The Bryan brothers will delight fans with their high-energy style along with Grand Slam champs Luke and Murphy Jensen, Delray singles champions Sam Querrey, Jack Sock, Tommy Haas and Xavier Malisse, and local pros Jesse Levine and Scoville Jenkins.
The tournament is the ATP Tour's first North American hard court event of the outdoor season and is one of just eight Tour events in the United States. It is broadcast live for more than 40 hours to millions of viewers in more than 100 countries around the globe.
Now in its 33rd year, multiple generations of fans and players have experienced great moments at the tournament. Some of the world’s best players launched their careers here - tournament champions include Grand Slam winners Lleyton Hewitt, Marin Cilic and Juan Martin del Potro, and Grand Slam finalists Kevin Anderson and Todd Martin along with Fritz and Nishikori.
Above: Fans enjoying the DBO. Source: Delray Beach Open.
Other competitors over the tournament’s 32 years of ATP tennis include a roster of Hall of Famers and Grand Slam champions such as Andre Agassi, Andy Roddick, Patrick Rafter, Jim Courier, Michael Chang, Ivan Lendl, Mats Wilander, Andres Gomez and Jimmy Connors. The Legends event is in its 16th year and over that time many of those same players have returned, joined by Major champions John McEnroe and Goran Ivanisevic.
This rich tennis history has helped the Delray Beach Open grow to annually host more than 50,000 fans. You should be one of them!
Visit www.DelrayBeachOpen.com or call 561-330-6000 for tickets and more information.
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Written by Toni Woods. Photos: Delray Beach Open.