A pair of queen cities may need a crown jewel to solidify a hold on a coveted joint ATP and WTA summer tennis tour stop.

The Western & Southern Open, which can trace its roots in the Cincinnati area back to 1899, may not remain in the Queen City long-term. Another Queen City, Charlotte, North Carolina, wants in on the tennis. It may come down to financing of a proposed tennis stadium complex in Charlotte deciding the fate.

When billionaire Ben Navarro purchased the tournament rights in 2022 the questions started popping up regarding the future of the two-week tennis event’s eventual home. Of course, the Navarro-owned Beemok Capital announcing plans to build out a tennis and pickleball complex on 50 acres in Charlotte sure made those questions easy to ask.

This summer the Charlotte City Council approved subsidizing a proposed The River District tennis complex to the tune of $65 million. The total project, proposed by Beemok Capital, could cost $400 million and features a 14,000-seat tennis stadium and a total of 40 indoor and outdoor tennis and pickleball courts on the 50 acres of land west of Charlotte Douglas International Airport.

A new tennis stadium and complex of that magnitude owned by the same group that owns the tournament certainly doesn’t bode well for the Lindner Family Tennis Center outside of Cincinnati as the host of the tournament in a few years.

Even as the future of the Western & Southern Open may point to Charlotte, nothing is official, for the tournament or the proposed venue.

“The Western & Southern Open has an incredible history and we are making major investments in the tournament to enhance the experience for players and fans,” a Beemok Capital spokesperson tells me. “As careful stewards of the tournament, we are also evaluating a number of options as part of a deliberate process relative to its future location before making substantial investments required to host an expanded event.”

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That places the tournament in somewhat of a wait-and-see place before this year’s Aug. 12 start date.

“We are excited to host the tournament in Greater Cincinnati in August,” the spokesperson says, “and for years to come and expect to make a decision on the long-term home of the tournament later this summer.”

The proposed tennis center is just one part of a larger The River District plan. The 1,400 acres, if fully built out, would include residential, office, hotel and retail offerings. The planned community is already under construction. But financing isn’t yet set on the tennis component.

Charlotte’s financial contribution may not be the only government contribution needed to lure the tournament from one Queen City to another. Beemok Capital, according to Vi Lyles, Charlotte mayor, is looking to fund about one-third of the project with the help of government assistance, which could also come from the state of North Carolina and Mecklenburg County.

Based on the statement from Beemok, other locations could still be in the mix to host the event in a few years, although with the history in the greater Cincinnati area and the obvious push for a new stadium and facility in Charlotte, it seems unlikely another suitor sits as poised to host the two-week event long-term.

August could be a big month for the Western & Southern Open. Along with the combined ATP and WTA event attracting some of the biggest names in the sport, we could get an announcement on the future home of the tournament. We may see who the long-term queen really is.