April 5th, 2022
Washington D.C.’s Historic Professional Tennis Tournament Becomes SeatGeek’s first ATP Tour 500 Partner, with Individual Session Tickets Available May 20
SeatGeek, the high-growth technology platform transforming the live-event experience for fans, teams, and venues, today announced a multi-year partnership with the Citi Open tennis tournament in Washington D.C. The annual tournament is SeatGeek’s first ATP 500 partner. It is also the company’s second tennis tournament and US Open Series partner, in addition to the Atlanta Open. The 2022 Citi Open takes place this summer from July 30 - August 7 and will feature some of the best tennis players in the world on the road to the last Grand Slam of the season.
“Since taking over management of the Citi Open in 2019, MDE Tennis has made significant investments to upgrade the tournament with a focus on creating a world class fan experience,” said Citi Open Chairman and Founder of MDE Tennis Mark Ein. “The ticketing experience is a huge part of how fans interact with our event, and SeatGeek’s advanced functionality, ease of use, and experience serving some of the best sports franchises in the world made it the perfect choice for the Citi Open.”
Beginning this summer, Citi Open fans will use the SeatGeek mobile app to directly scan into the Rock Creek Park Tennis Center. Using SeatGeek, fans can easily browse and buy tickets using its proprietary Deal Score technology, which automatically surfaces the best deals. Fans can also use SeatGeek’s Rally technology to find driving directions to the stadium, purchase upgrades, book a rideshare home, and more — all within the app. Citi Open will also use Rally’s customized onsite messaging features to share important information with tournament attendees. SeatGeek’s enterprise ticketing system will power Citi Open’s box office, allowing access to the platform’s industry-leading data and analytics tools.
“Fans expect more from their event technology, especially when attending prestige tournaments like the Citi Open,” said Jeff Ianello, EVP of Client Partnerships at SeatGeek. “Not only will we make the ticketing buying process simpler, we will focus on creating a superior experience throughout the entire fan journey. This means leveraging our Rally features to create a customized experience before, during, and after the tournament.”
The Citi Open joins a SeatGeek partnership roster that includes some of the most respected sports, music, and theater brands in the world. SeatGeek is the official ticketing platform for the NFL's Dallas Cowboys, New Orleans Saints, and Arizona Cardinals, and the NBA’s Brooklyn Nets, Cleveland Cavaliers, and New Orleans Pelicans. SeatGeek is also the official ticketing partner of Major League Soccer, and it tickets half the English Premier League with partners like Liverpool F.C. and Manchester City F.C.
2022 Citi Open Full-Tournament Ticket Packages On Sale Now; Individual Session Tickets Available Starting May 20. For more information on how to purchase tickets for this year’s Citi Open, visit www.citiopentennis.com.
ABOUT SEATGEEK
SeatGeek is on a mission to transform the live-event experience for fans, teams and venues. By combining a consumer marketplace with innovative primary ticketing box office technology, SeatGeek has become a high-growth global ticketing leader. SeatGeek delights fans through industry-first features including: Deal Score, its proprietary ticket rating technology; Rally, its event-day operating system; and SeatGeek Swaps, the first return policy offered by a major ticketer. In parallel, the platform’s open-ecosystem enterprise ticketing software empowers teams, venues and promoters to efficiently grow their businesses while delivering the superior experience that all fans deserve.
SeatGeek is proud to partner with some of the most recognized names in sports and live entertainment across the globe including the Dallas Cowboys, Brooklyn Nets and Liverpool F.C., as well as Major League Soccer (MLS), National Football League (NFL), half of the English Premier League (EPL) and multiple theaters across NYC’s Broadway and London’s West End. Curious? Visit www.seatgeek.com.
ABOUT CITI OPEN
The Citi Open® tournament has been Washington, D.C.’s premier tennis event since 1969 and benefits the Washington Tennis & Education Foundation (WTEF), the tournament’s non-profit owner and beneficiary. Beginning in 2019, venture capitalist and entrepreneur Mark Ein took over management and operation of the tournament under an agreement with WTEF. The organization provides underserved children in the DC-area with a safe environment to learn critical life skills both on and off the courts through academic and athletic enrichment. The Citi Open Tennis Tournament is one of only 13 elite ATP World Tour 500-level events worldwide and the only one held in the United States. The tournament also features a women’s invitational tournament, which provides fans the opportunity to watch simultaneous competitions of both world-class men’s and women’s tennis throughout the nine-day event. Washington is one of the five largest tennis events in the United States, and after 50 years, it is also the longest-running pro tennis event at the same site in the United States.
ABOUT MDE TENNIS
MDE Tennis, which is part of MDE Sports & Entertainment, oversees operations for Citi Open as well as the Washington Justice esports team and the legendary newspaper, the Washington CityPaper. Mark D. Ein is the Owner and CEO of MDE Sports & Entertainment and its MDE Tennis subsidiary.
Ein is an investor, entrepreneur, and philanthropist, who has created, acquired, invested in and built a series of growth companies across a diverse set of industries over the course of his 30-year career. During this time, Ein has been involved in the founding or early stages of six companies that have been worth over one billion dollars and has led over $3.0 billion of private equity, venture capital, and public company investments. Ein is the Founder and CEO of Capitol Investment Corporation, Venturehouse Group, LLC and Leland Investment Co. He is currently the Chairman of Kastle Systems, Lindblad Expeditions and Capitol Investment Corp. and is on the board of directors of Soho House and Custom One Truck Source.
Ein actively supports many community, charitable and cultural organizations and currently serves on the boards of the DC Public Education Fund (Chairman), the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, DC College Access Program (DC-CAP), and the DC Policy Center (Co-Founder). He formerly served on the Board of the United States Tennis Association (USTA) from 2012-2018 (serving as a Vice President of the Board from 2016-2018). Ein has been a member of the World Economic Forum since 2016, and the Gridiron Club, the oldest and one of the most prestigious journalistic organizations in Washington, D.C.
A native of the Washington, D.C., area and a ball boy in his youth at the city’s summer pro tennis tournament that became the Citi Open, Ein is also the Founder and Owner of the Washington Kastles, the most successful team in World TeamTennis history. The Kastles have won the league championship six of its 14 years since its founding and holds the record for the longest winning streak in U.S. pro team sports history winning 34 straight matches from 2011 through 2013.
In September 2009, Washington D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty presented Ein with the Key to the City, highlighting his Washington Kastles success on the court and, “for their commitment to the District’s communities and our youth.”
In September 2018, Ein founded the Washington Justice esports franchise in the Overwatch League, bringing the premier global esports league to the greater Washington, D.C. region. Also, in 2018, Ein acquired the Washington City Paper, the renowned weekly paper serving the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area since 1981. In 2019, Ein took over management and operation of Citi Open in Washington, D.C., one of the longest-running professional tennis tournaments in the world now in its 52nd year.
ABOUT US OPEN SERIES
The US Open Series serves as a true “regular season” of summer tennis in North America, linking nine summer WTA and ATP Tour tournaments to the US Open. Featuring a cohesive weekly schedule, the Series centralizes the way tennis is viewed in North America, across multiple television and digital platforms. Fans will see today's top champions go head-to-head with tomorrow's emerging stars, as storylines develop throughout the summer season. Each tournament also engages its local community with a variety of outreach initiatives, including grass-roots youth tennis clinics and activities.
ABOUT THE ATP
As the global governing body of men’s professional tennis, the ATP’s mission is to serve tennis. We entertain a billion global fans, showcase the world’s greatest players at the most prestigious tournaments, and inspire the next generation of fans and players. From the ATP Cup in Australia, to Europe, the Americas and Asia, the stars of the game battle for titles and FedEx ATP Rankings points at ATP Masters 1000, 500 and 250 events, and Grand Slams. All roads lead towards the Nitto ATP Finals, the prestigious season finale held in Turin, Italy. Featuring only the world’s top 8 qualified singles players and doubles teams, the tournament also sees the official crowning of the year-end ATP World No. 1, the ultimate achievement in tennis. For more information, please visit www.ATPTour.com.
ABOUT CITI
Citi, the leading global bank, has approximately 200 million customer accounts and does business in more than 160 countries and jurisdictions. Citi provides consumers, corporations, governments and institutions with a broad range of financial products and services, including consumer banking and credit, corporate and investment banking, securities brokerage, transaction services, and wealth management. Additional information may be found at www.citigroup.com | Twitter: @Citi | YouTube: www.youtube.com/citi | Blog: http://blog.citigroup.com | Facebook: www.facebook.com/citi | LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/citi.
ABOUT WTEF
The Washington Tennis & Education Foundation (WTEF) is a premier educational and tennis organization for underserved children in Washington, D.C. The mission of WTEF is to improve the life prospects of low-income, underserved children and youth in the District of Columbia through athletic and academic enrichment. WTEF seeks to keep children off city streets during out-of-school time in a safe environment they can trust. We also engage them in productive activities that teach discipline, build confidence, improve school performance, and encourage a healthy lifestyle. WTEF empowers students to achieve their highest potential by helping them develop meaningful values and critical life skills that will lead them to make constructive life choices. WTEF builds life champions. For more information, visit www.wtef.org.