What goes into running a tennis tournament? Lexus Birmingham Open director explains
While the French Open is heading for a dramatic finale, away from France, the grass court season has already begun.
Players on both the men’s and women’s tour are duking it out for precious prize money and ranking points as attention turns towards the hallowed courts of Wimbledon.
For instance, in England’s second city, hoards of exciting tennis talent are locking horns with one another at the 2026 Lexus Birmingham Open.
The WTA 125 tournament and the ATP Challenger Tour 125 are in full swing this week, but what are the logistics for running such an event?
To find out more, Tennis365 exclusively spoke to Tournament Director Kirsty Thomson at Edgbaston Priory Club – which runs from June 1-7.
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When do preparations begin?
Even though the Lexus Birmingham Open began last weekend, the preparation for it got underway late in 2025. Indeed, Thomson outlined the herculean effort it takes to put on such a show.
She said, “The preparation for the Lexus Birmingham Open begins months in advance, well before Christmas to ensure crucial things like player accommodation and transport are sorted.
“The whole Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) is involved in some form with the event, and that’s not just our tournament team here on-site during the week; it includes the whole LTA, so teams like marketing, commercial, regional colleagues who work in the West Midlands all-year-round, the success of the event really down to the whole LTA.
“In terms of volunteers, we have just under 200 in total. Most come from the West Midlands, but we do have a few who come from far and wide, such is the affection held by people for the event.”
What are the tennis tournament essentials?
Thomson revealed there are some non-negotiables when putting on a tennis competition of this ilk.
And, naturally, a lot of hard graft goes into getting the place in ship-shape, from catering, to building the stadia, to tending to players’ needs, and more.
She added, “A lot of things are tour mandated, particularly things like facilities for players on-site, so things like minimum food standards for players, medical provision and having a stringing team on site, so we have to ensure we meet all of those different standards.
“But we also want to make it as comfortable as possible for players, so we look at how we can go above and beyond, particularly in areas like the player lounge, so that players enjoy their time here.
“We also obviously work closely with the Edgbaston Priory Club, whose team of ground staff are some of the best in the business, to get the courts and facilities in place, in particular when we start to build everything on-site, which typically starts four weeks in advance of the event getting underway.”
What are the biggest challenges?
Aside from the huge logistical effort that goes into putting on a tournament, unfortunately for the organisers, a lot of it is out of their hands.
What is in their hands, though, is trying to provide a top-notch experience for fans.
Thomson said, “This year, we’ve really looked to make it a festival of tennis for fans who come to the event, so that alongside world-class tennis on-court, fans have a really good time experience off-court as well.
“So we’ve got lots of food trucks from the local area, we’ve got music and performances from local groups, and shops and have a go experiences.
“The biggest challenges we face are the ones you can’t do much about, the main one being the British weather, but we have lots of contingency plans in place to ensure that the tournament still runs smoothly.”
Attracting top players
In years gone by, Birmingham was in the second half of June. Now, though, it kickstarts the grass court season.
Among this year’s headliners are Alex Eala, who is just inside the world’s top 40 and has an army of Filipino supporters.
2025 Queen’s Club winner Tatjana Maria also took part, while on the men’s side, Brits such as Jacob Fearnley and Arthur Fery were in town.
Thomson continued, “Players want to get onto the grass and get matches under their belt, which shows by the strength of the women’s entry list in particular – 16 of the world’s top 100 players are here.
“This is the first grass court event of the year, and the only one anywhere on the ATP, WTA or ITF Tours this week, so players know that to get themselves off to the best start on the grass, Birmingham is the place to be.”
The changing face of this tournament
The first Birmingham Open took place in 1982. In that period, there have been 43 women’s winners and one men’s winner.
Between 2014-2019, it was a Premier tournament, where past champions such as Madison Keys and Ashleigh Barty earned 470 rankings points and claimed around £89,000 for being the last woman standing.
The women’s event was placed in the WTA 250 category between 2021-2024 and since 2025, it is a 125. Now, the total prize money for the women’s tournament is just over £167,000 and for the men, in both singles and doubles, the overall pot is just above £176,000. Not to mention the women’s doubles and mixed doubles.
Incidentally, according to the LTA’s Finance and Governance report (ending December 31, 2025), the governing body invested £31.1m – up from £26.3m in 2024 – to support the “success” of the grass court season in the lead up to Wimbledon.
That amount gets distributed amongst Birmingham, Eastbourne, Nottingham, Queen’s Ilkey and includes the cost of infrastructure, operational delivery and player services, including player prize money. So, it really is a team effort.
Thomson added, “The change in grading came through a refresh of the LTA’s grass court calendar, starting in 2025.
“The changes to the calendar put Birmingham front and centre kicking off the grass court season, and for the first time, meant both it and every LTA grass court event would be hosting both men’s and women’s draws.”
The tournament concludes on Sunday.
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