{"id":11569641,"date":"2025-07-21T12:49:44","date_gmt":"2025-07-21T16:49:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/?p=11569641"},"modified":"2025-07-21T14:00:33","modified_gmt":"2025-07-21T18:00:33","slug":"armstrong-williams-a-thrilling-start-to-the-dc-open-staff-commentary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/2025\/07\/21\/armstrong-williams-a-thrilling-start-to-the-dc-open-staff-commentary\/","title":{"rendered":"Armstrong Williams: A thrilling start to the DC Open | STAFF COMMENTARY"},"content":{"rendered":"

It was a thrilling summer Sunday evening at Ned’s Club situated in President’s Park across from the White House and the Department of the Treasury, as the 2025 Mubadala Citi DC Open kicked off this week’s ATP and WTA 500 event played on outdoor hard courts. The tennis tour runs from Monday, July 21, to Sunday, July 28, and tickets are available for all sessions. It is the longest-running pro tennis event to be held in an equal access Rock Creek Park.<\/p>\n

As I found myself right in the heart of the action, the dressy, elegant affair was a rare scene in Washington, D.C. The wall-to-wall crowd at Ned’s, creating electrifying energy on the Penthouse and floor 10, made this year\u2019s tournament in our nation\u2019s capital another great tennis spectacle.<\/p>\n

The inaugural reception on Sunday night was attended by Washington, D.C, Mayor Muriel Bowser, members of the D.C. Council, Maryland legislators and dignitaries in business, sports and government. It was an opportunity to brush shoulders with tennis stars Jessica Pegula, the number-three-ranked WTA American player, and Australian superstar and tennis channel commentator Nick Kyrgios, whose signature humor and confidence was on full display while he was surrounded by a mob of fans during the event. I also exchanged kind words with the U.S. all-star Frances Tiafoe and his girlfriend\/business partner Ayan Broomfield.<\/p>\n

\"Armstrong
Armstrong Williams with Jessica Pegula. (Courtesy, Armstrong Williams)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Venus Williams, the seven-time Grand Champion of Tennis, returns to tour after a 16-month hiatus. Contesting her first event in 16 months, former World No.1 Williams will face fellow American Peyton Stearns in the opening round of the Mubadala City Open in Washington, D.C., this week. Jessica Pegula tops the draw, and Britain’s Emma Raducanu will take on Marta Kostyuk in the first round. This is one of many thrilling narratives being discussed as the global world of tennis descends on Washington.<\/p>\n

I also engaged with Mark Ein, the visionary behind the tournament\u2019s success and minority owner of the Washington Commanders; Canadian up-and-comer Gabriel Diallo, who attended with his parents Moubassirou and Iryna Diallo, a Guianese father and Ukrainian mother; Russian Andrey Rublev; Frenchman Hugo Gaston; and D.C. serial entrepreneur Jan Adams.<\/p>\n

\"Entrepreneur
Entrepreneur Jan Adams and Maryland State Senator Nick Charles. (Courtesy, Armstrong Williams)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Mubadala Citi DC Open entertains and inspires. It shows us that tennis is driven not only by athleticism, but by the incredible people who bring the game to life.<\/p>\n

Armstrong Williams (www.armstrongwilliams.com; @arightside) is a political analyst, syndicated columnist and owner of the broadcasting company, Howard Stirk Holdings. He is also part owner of The Baltimore Sun.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The opening of the 2025 Mubadala Citi DC Open was entertaining and inspiring, writes Armstrong Williams.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":157,"featured_media":11569962,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"apple_news_api_created_at":"2025-07-21T16:49:48Z","apple_news_api_id":"270ff3e6-4bc0-4544-b33b-3054a766a313","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2025-07-21T18:00:36Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/AJw_z5kvARUSzOzBUp2ajEw","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":false,"apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"middle","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":[],"apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"subheadline":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[83,96,99],"tags":[24874,24457],"feature":[],"location":[],"type-of-work":[],"coauthors":[24791],"class_list":["post-11569641","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest-headlines","category-opinion","category-opinion-columnists","tag-armstrong-williams","tag-social"],"post_status":"","edit_last":0,"edit_lock":0,"highlights":"","original_byline":"","original_canonical":"","original_category":"","original_email":"","original_id":0,"original_pubdate":"","original_source":"","primary_section":"99","primary_tag":24874,"print_workflow_body":{"deck_headline":"","print_title":"","print_subheadline":"","print_priority":"","print_placement":"cover","print_planned_ready":"","print_pub_date":"","print_slug":"tbs-l-armstrong","print_content":"","print_budget_line":"","print_excerpt":"","print_notes":"","photo_limits":"Photo limits are: 1 featured image, 5 featured gallery images, 5 embedded gallery images and 5 in-article embedded images. 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