Novak Djokovic is coming back to Cincinnati, and Mason is about to get one of tennis' most reliable blockbuster attractions back on the schedule. The 39-year-old Serbian will play the 2026 Cincinnati Open after skipping the tournament for three years, returning to the site where he has already won three singles titles.
The tournament confirmed Djokovic's entry today, with the star saying, “I'm happy to announce I'm coming to the Cincinnati Open this year,” according to WLWT. He last played in Cincinnati in 2023, when he beat Carlos Alcaraz in a final that still ranks among the event's all-time classics.
Djokovic joins an unusually loaded 2026 field that includes defending champion Alcaraz, world No. 1 Jannik Sinner and other top names from both tours. The official tournament announcement listed Djokovic among the former champions expected in the expanded event, which returns to Mason from Aug. 8 through Aug. 23.
Djokovic's Cincinnati résumé is hard to ignore
The Cincinnati Open's official champions list shows Djokovic won the men's singles title in 2018, 2020 and 2023. His 45-12 match record at the tournament includes a 10-match winning streak, making his return more than a celebrity cameo on the draw sheet.
That 2023 championship came against Alcaraz in a three-hour, 49-minute thriller. As the ATP Tour reported, Djokovic rallied to win 5-7, 7-6(7), 7-6(4), producing the longest best-of-three final in ATP history.
A major local draw arrives ahead of the U.S. Open
Djokovic's 2026 season has included deep runs but no singles title so far. He reached the Australian Open final before losing to Alcaraz, then advanced to the Wimbledon semifinals, where Sinner defeated him 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 in a straight-sets performance documented by the ATP Tour.
For local fans, the countdown is short. The tournament's official schedule information says community programming opens Aug. 8, match play begins Aug. 11, and both singles finals are set for Sunday, Aug. 23, with tickets available through the Cincinnati Open ticket site.
The event is also coming off a record 2025 attendance of 285,571 fans after the tournament's $260 million campus transformation. Djokovic's return should give an already ambitious Cincinnati Open another jolt of demand before the tennis world heads to New York for the U.S. Open.
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