Asheville Open

The tournament is held in downtown Asheville, at historic Aston Park, where there are 12 clay public tennis courts. The Aston Park facility dates back to the early 1900’s when the city opened three clay courts for public use.

The tournament’s history includes offering professional divisions. There are several highly ranked professional players that have played in the Asheville Open including Lawson Duncan, Tim Wilkison, Buster Brown and Dick Covington. Over the years the tournament has included national top-ranked players in age division categories and has expanded into offering skill-level divisions of NTRP (National Tennis Rating Program). In addition, the Asheville Open has served Junior players. Age Divisions of 18’s, 16’s, 12’s and 10’s; in 2026 the Asheville Open was named the NC Junior Tournament of the year!

The Asheville Open benefits the Asheville Tennis Association (ATA), a non- profit 501(c)(3) organization, whose mission it is to grow the game of tennis for ALL in the Asheville area. A Tourism Development Authority sponsorship helps ATA host a top-notch tournament, from which 20 percent of all cash revenue will feed the ATA’s Community Outreach programming.

ATA’s Community outreach programs provide free tennis opportunities for under-resourced Western North Carolina participants. Specifically, the ATA sponsors a National Junior Tennis and Learning (NJTL) year-round program for under-resourced youth in the city of Asheville as well as a summer playground program in sponsorship with the Asheville Parks and Recreation department. The after school Terminetters program will continue to host an academic portion using Bricks 4 Kidz (STEAM-based learning with Legos) and Tennis Instruction at Aston Park. In light of Hurricane Helene, the ATA will also focus outreach efforts in the Hispanic community as well as through critical nonprofit partners such as Open Doors and Childrens First. The ATA purchased a van last year to remove the barrier of transportation on parents, furthering the reach into new communities.

The ATA is also involved with Adaptive programs such as Tennis Special Olympics, Abilities and Wheelchair (free to all participants). The goal of Adaptive Tennis programming is bringing health, friendship, and community to individuals with physical or mental disabilities through the sport of tennis.