Australian Open tournament director responds when asked if Cincinnati could become the fifth Grand Slam

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The Cincinnati Open underwent serious renovations ahead of the 2025 tournament, which have been praised by many.

As part of a $200+ million development project, the Cincinnati Open campus received an overhaul between the 2024 and 2025 tournaments.

Sharing her thoughts on the new facilities, Coco Gauff said players think the Cincinnati Open is the ‘best tournament on tour’, and better than the Slams.

She isn’t the only one to have compared the tournament to the four majors, as Daniil Medvedev suggested the Cincinnati Open felt like a fifth Grand Slam.

However, not everyone agrees, as Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley delivered an emphatic response when he was asked if the Cincinnati Open or any other event could become a fifth Grand Slam.

Craig Tiley says ‘no’ when asked if the Cincinnati Open could become a ‘fifth Grand Slam’

During the latest episode of ‘The Tennis’, Tiley was asked if there would ever be a fifth Grand Slam.

“No,” he said.

He did, however, commend tournaments for maximising their potential.

“I mean, you hear that all the time. I like that people aspire to be like a fifth Slam, but there are a few things you can’t replace,” said Tiley.

Tiley explained why no tournament will join the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, and US Open and become a fifth Grand Slam.

“You can’t replace the history,” he said.

“There’s the ethos of the young players, their aspiration is to win the Australian Open or to win Wimbledon, win the US Open, or win Roland Garros, so you know when you’ve done that as a player, as there are very few that do it, you’ve truly arrived as a player.

“And the tours themselves put a restriction on the number of players that play.

“The Australian Open, we cater for 800 players, that’s your wheelchair athletes, we have a wheelchair competition, junior competition.”

Despite the improvements made by the Cincinnati Open organizers in 2025, it’s unlikely we will see the event upgraded to Grand Slam status.

That’s not to say a fifth Grand Slam is off the cards, however, as there have been rumours circulating of other Masters 1000 events making moves.

The Italian Open could buy another Masters 1000 event and become the fifth Grand Slam

Earlier this year, it was reported that the Italian Open had bid $550 million to acquire the Madrid Open tournament.

The idea was for the Italian Open to take Madrid’s place on the calendar, extending the event in Rome to a two-week tournament.

Whether they would receive approval from the Grand Slam committee is another story, although that’s not the only problem they are facing.

Reacting to news of the bid, Madrid Open tournament director Feliciano Lopez claimed the event was here to stay until 2030.

“The tournament is here until 2030, regardless of who the owners are,” he said.

“If someone wants to buy the tournament, it’s because it’s played in Madrid and because the people of Madrid respond to it.”

There are, of course, arguments on either side, but one thing the Italian Open does have going for it is its history.

As Tiley mentioned, the ‘history’ of the Grand Slams are what makes them so special, something the tournament in Rome has in abundance.

First played in 1930, the Italian Open has been around for almost 100 years and has seen some of the best players in tennis history lift the trophy since it was first introduced to the tennis calendar.

Notable Italian Open champions

• Rod Laver – X 2
• Bjorn Borg – X 2
• Ivan Lendl – X 2
• Andre Agassi – X 1
• Rafael Nadal – X 10
• Novak Djokovic – X 6
• Carlos Alcaraz – X 1

Whether the Italian Open will ever become recognized as a fifth Grand Slam remains to be seen, but it would certainly be interesting to add another major into the mix.