Washington, D.C
DC Open Has Its Best Year During Olympics
Frances Tiafoe reacts after a point against Daniel Elahi Galan during day 4 of the Mubadala Citi DC … [+]
Never mind that on the other side of the Atlantic, the 2024 Summer Olympic Games are in full swing. Right in the nation’s capital, some of the top names in tennis are going head to head in this year’s Mubadala Citi DC Open, with every single ticket sold out.
Among the talent is local favorite Frances Tiafoe, ATP’s No. 29-ranked player, known for his strong serve and aggressive style of offensive play. Tiafoe, who grew up nearby in Maryland, made an eighth appearance at his hometown tournament a decade after his professional debut at age 16.
Tiafoe attended a solo press conference on Monday afternoon to discuss his goals for the remainder of this year and the importance of this tennis event in Washington, D.C.’s Rock Creek Park.
“Obviously coming here, I want to perform,” Taifoe said, also saying that seeing his name and image around the stadium “gets me going. I mean, I need to get a few matches under my belt,” he added, “obviously try(ing) to get some good momentum to get me to the (U.S.) Open.”
On Thursday, Tiafoe advanced from the Round of 16 after beating fellow American Aleksandar Kovacevic in three sets. When I spoke directly to Tiafoe after the presser, he said that his intensity would not let up.
“I like to play hard, and I’m always going try to get to the net more aggressively, hit my serves hard, and play hard but keep it smooth.”
Tiafoe, who entered the Mubadala Citi DC Open’s men’s singles tourney as the No. 5 seed, also said he focuses on the mental aspect of his game most.
“My game is my game, and I know I’m dangerous. So, I know it’s about my mental game and how I can bring my best week in and week out.”
When I asked about playing in Washington, D.C., and being the hometown favorite, Tiafoe said there’s something special about being close to where he grew up.
“Generally, when I play anywhere around the States, I feel a lot of love. I feel it in New York and places like Cincinnati, but obviously home is home,” Tiafoe said. I’m going to my favorite restaurants while (at) home. I’ve got my friends in the stadium, (plus) family, parents, and cousins here watching. It’s a really big thing.”
When I asked Tiafoe which challenger he felt has helped him the most recently in the ongoing evolution of his game, he said the current world No. 3 player and two-time consecutive Wimbledon champion, Carlos Alcaraz.
“Playing Alcaraz, We’ve gone to the brink twice in huge matches. I think he brings out the best in me, and I bring out the best in him. ”
Tiafoe saw competition against Alcaraz a month ago at Wimbledon, in which the defending champion survived a major scare versus Tiafoe in Wimbledon’s third round on Friday, July 5. Eventually, Alcaraz rallied to beat Tiafoe in a five-set thriller 5-7, 6-2, 4-6, 7-6(2), 6-2.
At the US Open in 2022, Tiafoe tested the Spaniard in a five-set match-up en route to his only US Open title.
DC Open: A local favorite and then some
Mark Ein, an American former tennis player, venture capitalist, and sports executive, has chaired the DC Open since 2019.
Ein says that even with the Olympics going on—with a lot of attention from tennis diehards to attendees in Paris like Alcaraz, Coco Gauff, and WTA world No. 1 Iga Świątek—the Mubadala Citi DC Open is having perhaps its best year.
“Our player field is really strong. It’s a small draw in that there are on 28 players on the women’s side, and 48 on the men’s. We have seven of the top women’s players, plus exciting players in Sloane Stephens, Sofia Kenin, Emma Radacanu,” Ein said. “That means every round, you draw players who are really good.”
Nine of the world’s top 20-ranked players were on the docket at the DC Open, including Aryna Sabalenka (3), Ons Jabeur (10), Grigor Dimitrov (10), Daria Kasatkina (12), Ben Shelton (14), Liudmila Samsonova (15), Victoria Azarenka (16) and Anna Kalinskaya (18), as well as Madison Keys (13), who withdrew at the last minute because of an injury.
Sabalenka, Azarenka, and Karolína Plíšková are all one-time world No. 1 players, while Sabalenka, Azarenka, Kenin, Stephens, and Raducanu are all Grand Slam winners. Azarenka is also an Olympic Gold Medalist (London 2012, Mixed Doubles).
WASHINGTON, DC – JULY 31: Aryna Sabalenka celebrates after a shot against Kamilla Rakhimova during … [+]
Ein, who also plays a role as a limited partner with the Washington Commanders, points out that for the last two consecutive years, the Citi Open ticket office has completely sold out, and he thinks this has a lot to do with the top-level of talent in the DC Open, and it being so accessible for the fans.
But it’s not just the talent on the court that DC Open can boast about. The William H.G. FitzGerald Tennis Center, home of the DC Open, is tucked into the picturesque wooded are known as Rock Creek, a U.S. National Park Service location.
Also on hand for fans is a world-class selection of food that consists of both Michelin-starred chefs and DC-area local favorite coffee spots and sandwich shops.
“It’s great tennis up close, with this incredible summer festival,” Ein said. “In the middle of the day, when tennis is being played and all the fans are out, the DC Open has great energy.”
Ein also points out that the DC Open is one of the most innovative events in the sport, as the world’s first combined 500 event. In pro tennis, both ATP, the men’s tennis authority, and WTA, the women’s tennis authority, sponsor events in which tournament singles champions collect 500 ranking points.
“When we took over the DC Open (in 2019), our event was a men’s 500 and a women’s 250,” Ein said. This meant that you couldn’t highlight both sides equally, but we decided to fix that.”
Aryna Sabalenka, currently the WTA’s No. 3-ranked player and a two-time consecutive Australian Open champ (2022, 2023), is known for her intensity on and off the court, like Tiafoe.
She hints that the Mubadala Citi DC Open is a great alternative to the Olympic tussle and provides a great opportunity not only to regroup but to win.
“I definitely feel like being in Paris right now, it’s a lot of responsibility and a lot of pressure, like different pressure,” Sabalenka said during her Monday presser. Here, it actually feels much, much easier to breathe.”
Read Frye’s interviews with Maria Sharapova and Billie Jean King.
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Washington, D.C
The Work Behind the Welcome: NPS Tradespeople Restore Dupont Circle, Making D.C. Safer and More Beautiful (U.S. National Park Service)
NPS / Kelsey Graczyk
The hands behind the place
This work took more than plans. It took craftsmen and craftswomen.
NPS carpenters, masons, maintenance workers, preservation specialists, engineers and landscape architects worked together to renew the circle from the ground up. Crews installed about 10,000 feet of wood slats, cut and placed dowels, sanded rough surfaces, repaired worn concrete legs and painted benches to withstand weather and daily use.
Contractors also repaired fountain pipes and restored stone and marble features, returning moving water to the heart of the circle.
“I used to write project plans for this kind of work,” retired NPS Asset Manager Fred Francis said. “Now I’m out here helping do it. I’m working with a great group of people who are experts in their fields.”
Homelessness in the D.C. region ticked up slightly from 2025 to 2026, according to a new report from the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments.
Homelessness in the D.C. region ticked up slightly from 2025 to 2026, according to a new report from the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments.
Christine Hong, chair of the council’s Homeless Services Committee and chief of services to End and Prevent Homelessness with the Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services, presented the findings at the council’s Wednesday meeting.
The report centers on the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s mandated point-in-time count of sheltered and unsheltered people experiencing homelessness on a single night in January.
“This year, the count was conducted on Feb. 4. We had to postpone it one week due to the extreme cold and winter weather event that we experienced the week prior,” Hong said. “Although it’s an imperfect measure, it provides an important regional snapshot of homelessness on a single night.”
The D.C. region reported 9,790 total people experiencing homelessness, an increase of 131 people or about 1% from 2025. The year-over-year regional change was modest. This count is closer in line to the 2019 number, before the pandemic.
“The regional story is that homelessness fell during the pandemic era, a period when expanded federal resources and emergency protections were in place, and then increased after those temporary supports ended,” Hong said. “The main takeaway is that regional homelessness is no longer increasing at the pace seen in 2023 and 2024, and is in line with the years immediately preceding the pandemic.”
Results varied by jurisdiction.
D.C. had the largest numerical increase, with 225 additional people counted. Prince George’s County, Maryland, had 175 additional people counted, a 29% increase. Montgomery County saw the largest decrease, down by 390 people or 26%. Hong pointed to the county’s investment in short-term housing.
“Montgomery County also spent a great deal to expand emergency shelter for families, because we are committed to ensuring no family with children would sleep outside even one night,” she said.
The count also included detailed information on race, veterans and household types.
“The broader evidence is clear, and is referenced in the report, that housing costs and the cost of living are major drivers of homelessness risk, especially for families with low income,” Hong said. “In practical terms, this means family homelessness is closely tied to whether low-income families can find and maintain housing.”
Read the full report here.
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WASHINGTON – The D.C. police lieutenant arrested in a Chris Hansen sting operation is due in court Wednesday.
Lt. Matthew Mahl is accused of soliciting sex with a minor. FOX 5’s Melanie Alnwick reports that Mahl was charged with felony solicitation of a minor. A status hearing Wednesday morning suggests the case could be paused, not prosecuted or dismissed, though the reason remains unclear.
DC police lieutenant arrested in child exploitation investigation tied to Chris Hansen sting
Mahl was one of several people arrested in April as part of an online sting for Hansen’s show “Takedown,” which he describes as a predator investigative series. Hansen’s team, working with members of the Harford County Sheriff’s Office, set up a “sting house” where targets were lured to an address believing they were meeting a juvenile for sex.
Mahl did not enter the sting house. Instead, he was taken out of his vehicle on the street and arrested. He did not answer questions during the post‑arrest interview.
Hansen’s earlier program, “To Catch a Predator,” drew controversy over its tactics, which critics said ruined lives and careers before cases reached court. Others praised the shows for removing alleged child predators from the streets.
Mahl is on administrative leave and has had his police powers revoked. The D.C. police department is conducting its own internal investigation.
The Source: This article was written using information from the Metropolitan Police Department, the Harford County Sheriff’s Office and and previous FOX 5 reporting.
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