By Eleanor Swaim

Staff Writer

    For the past 15 years, Winston-Salem has hosted its own tennis tournament, the Winston-Salem Open. Held on the grounds of Wake Forest University, the Winston-Salem Open is an exciting event for the community. The tournament gives people from all over the world a chance to see the beautiful city. 

    The Open offers activities for people of all ages. For younger kids, the tournament offers a day to learn the basics of tennis and meet new friends on “Kids’ Day.” Teens get the opportunity to be a ball boy or ball girl, including students at R.J. Reynolds High School. Most adults attend the tournament to watch the games or engage in socialization that comes with the event. Because the Open welcomes people from all over the world, the audience enjoys observing different gestures and playing techniques of different cultures, comparing them to the Americans they spend the most time watching. 

    “I went to the match with Daniil Medvedev,” Reynolds senior Josephine Rose said. “It was a really good match to watch because he won the Winston-Salem Open a few years ago. He played against [Martin Damm Jr.] who was also really good. Medvedev was really funny to watch because he talks to himself.”

   Students at Reynolds frequently attend this event, commonly members of the tennis team. It’s a great way to see players they may have heard about or have looked up to for years. Students can participate in the event by helping out players, retrieving runaway balls, and handing out towels. Reynolds junior Grant Cameron had the opportunity to help out this year, by being a ball boy. Also serving as our student body president, Cameron has a long-time love for tennis and has attended the Winston-Salem Open in many years past.

    “The matches can get pretty tense,” Cameron said. “Sometimes, as the games go on, the players start to talk to us more, which is really cool, especially when it’s ones that I’ve heard of and watched before.”

    The biggest part of putting this event together is the planning. It begins months before the event and takes careful consideration. With a great organization team, they always go above and beyond, ensuring people of all ages can have an experience they won’t forget. 

   Megan Wilson, the Event Manager, specializes in getting it up and running, focusing mainly on food, drinks, and sponsors. Wilson has worked with the tournament for four years.

    “I love the event industry, especially this event, because it’s in my hometown, so I can always have a piece of myself here,” Wilson said. “The number of people I meet doing this job is what I enjoy most, and I’m lucky to get to touch on many different areas of our event.”

    While the 2026 Winston-Salem Open has come to a close, the planning team has already begun brainstorming ideas for next year’s tournament, hoping to build upon this year’s success. It’s not an event you want to miss!