Stadium 3 at Mason's Lindner Family Tennis Center now carries the name of Tony Trabert, the Cincinnati native who won five Grand Slam singles titles and six tournament titles at the event now known as the Cincinnati Open.
The Cincinnati Open announced the dedication on Sunday, Aug. 9, during Community Weekend. Alongside the naming, the tournament launched a pair of annual scholarships through the Cincinnati Tennis Foundation to support two young players from the Greater Cincinnati area each year.
The inaugural Tony Trabert Scholarship recipients are Mia Presley, 11, of Dayton, and Evan Fan, 13, of Mason.
A Cincinnati kid on clay courts
Marion Anthony Trabert was born at Christ Hospital on Aug. 16, 1930, the youngest of three boys. He grew up in Cincinnati's Bond Hill neighborhood, a short walk from a park with four clay courts where he first picked up a racquet at age six. His father paid a dollar for a senior tennis permit so the boy couldn't be bumped off the courts by adults; a junior permit cost just 50 cents.
"I remember my dad saying to us, I want to keep you involved in sports, so you don't have time to be a drugstore cowboy," Trabert said in a 2014 interview quoted in the tournament's announcement.
Trabert won his first title at the Tri-State Tennis Tournament, the event's former name, in 1949. He went on to win six titles there: singles in 1951 and 1953, and doubles in 1949, 1951, 1953 and 1955. His 1951 singles final victory over mentor Bill Talbert came 75 years ago.
His 1955 season remains one of the greatest in tennis history. Trabert played 23 tournaments and won 18 singles titles, compiling a 106-7 record. He captured the French Open, Wimbledon and the U.S. Championship that year, becoming just the second man after Don Budge to win three Majors in a single season. Sports Illustrated put him on its cover that August.
After his playing career, Trabert spent three decades broadcasting tennis for CBS Sports alongside Pat Summerall. He captained the U.S. Davis Cup team from 1976 to 1980, winning two titles, and served as president of the International Tennis Hall of Fame from 2001 to 2011. He died Feb. 3, 2021, at age 90. He would have turned 96 during the 2026 tournament.
A growing scholarship program
The Tony Trabert Scholarships expand the Cincinnati Tennis Foundation's existing named-scholarship program. In 2025, the foundation awarded four $5,000 grants to junior players under the names of Andre Agassi, Sloane Stephens and the Bryan Brothers. The dollar amount of the 2026 Trabert scholarships has not been disclosed.
The Cincinnati Tennis Foundation serves as the tournament's official programming partner, running clinics and activities during Community Weekend and the ellesse Junior Championships.
The 2026 Cincinnati Open continues through Aug. 23 at the Lindner Family Tennis Center, 6100 Legacy Park Way, Mason. Finals Weekend is Aug. 22-23.
