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The surprising fact about the speed of the courts in the Cincinnati tournament

Diego Jiménez Rubio - 15 Aug 2026
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Cincinnati Track Speed Date. Photo: Getty Images

The Cincinnati tournament 2026 is leaving a first surprise related to one of the elements that most condition the game: the speed of its courts. TennisTV has revealed the Court Pace Index (CPI) recorded in the Grandstand during the start of the tournament, and the figure, 38.1, confirms a slowdown compared to previous years, having reached 43 CPI points in 2025.

This data is particularly striking because Cincinnati had become one of the fastest courts in the ATP calendar, but the conditions of this edition place the tournament practically on par with Miami and below Indian Wells. The prevailing humidity in Ohio may have influenced this slowdown, but it does not solely explain the loss of 5 points, suggesting that the organizers have made some decision to make the courts less fast than in the previous edition.

The Cincinnati tournament has dropped from a 43 CPI in 2025 to 38.1 in 2026

To put it in context, the CPI recorded this year in other hard-court tournaments of this level is 39.3 in Indian Wells, 39.2 in Miami, and 35.4 in Montreal. Cincinnati remains a fast court in comparison to much of the circuit, but it no longer features that extraordinarily fast character that had defined the tournament, being below the records of the first Masters 1000 of the year.

There is also a factor that may be influencing the measurement. The image disseminated by TennisTV reflects conditions of 26 degrees and 87% humidity, with wind of only 11 kilometers per hour. The high humidity, combined with the rain that has affected the first days, may contribute to the court playing somewhat slower.

In fact, it is reasonable to expect the CPI to increase as the week progresses and the environmental conditions change. Nevertheless, the initial figure is significant.

The case of Cincinnati fits into a trend that has been perceived in tennis for some time: the progressive slowing of surfaces. The contrast with last year's 43 points is particularly revealing and directly affects the type of tennis that players can develop.

This is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, El sorprendente dato sobre la velocidad de las pistas del torneo de Cincinnati