The origins of the Citi Open date back to an ATP event that launched in 1969 as one of the first open professional tennis tournaments held in the United States. It has since featured some of the sport's most innovative changes, including blue courts, instant replay/video boards in the stadium, the main draw getting underway on Sunday and being part of the Emirates Airline US Open Series.

After the WTA held an event in College Park, Maryland, in 2011, the ATP and WTA staged a joint tournament in 2012 at the William H.G. Fitzgerald Tennis Center in the Rock Creek Park section of Washington, DC. Thus, various site upgrades were put in place, including a show court to accommodate both events.

Citi is a global financial services company with about 200 million customer accounts and does business in more than 160 countries and jurisdictions. The Citi Open is owned by and benefits the Washington Tennis & Education Foundation (WTEF), which seeks to improve life prospects for DC area youth.