Things to do / Travel Guide
Address:7300 Crandon Boulevard
Miami, Florida
Our Sports Superfan Says:
It has been called the sixth most important tennis tournament in the world, and it is held each year at the Tennis Center at Crandon Park. The Miami Masters (or Sony Ericsson Open, as it is currently titled) brings in the top players, both men and women, to this facility that includes one of the largest 11 tennis stadiums in the world.
When the tournament first started, in 1985, it was first held at two different venues in South Florida, before moving to Crandon Park in 1987. It has historically been one of the highest paying tournaments during the season and, by many accounts, is the most important event of the year outside the grand slams and season-ending tournaments. As a result, the top players consistently come here, bringing men like Lendl, Connors, Sampras, Agassi, Roddick, Federer, and Nadal and women like Navratilova, Evert, Graf, Seles, Hingis, Sharapova, and the Williams sisters. It is one of the few tournaments each year, outside of the four majors, where there is a simultaneous men's and women's competition. The prize money here, among the largest on the tour, is more than $7.5 million combined.
The 13,300-seat stadium was opened in 1987, and the park has 12 hard courts for competition, in addition to six practice courts, and a number of clay and grass courts as well. The tournament is 12 days long, and has 96-player singles draws and 32-team doubles draws. Held in late March/early April, the tournament was the first in the United States, back in 2006, to feature instant replay review of line calls.
Crandon Park is a county-owned and operated area on the northern end of Key Biscayne, just off mainland Florida.