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Marcelo Rios Revisits A Now Abandoned Crandon Park Stadium
5 Comments · Posted by Scoop Malinowski in Articles, Scoop
Last week tennis legend Marcelo Rios visited the now abandoned and decaying Key Biscayne Crandon Park Stadium Court 28 years after he beat Agassi and conquered a sport.
In April 1998 Rios defeated Agassi in the Lipton final in three sets to became world no..1 ATP.
Photos and video shared by Rios on Instagram reveal that the historic court where he conquered a sport is now in total shambles with a tree growing behind a baseline, in a spot where countless elite pros like Pete Sampras, Marat Safin, Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Serena Williams, Martina Hingis and Monica Seles hit winning shots witnessed by fans all over the planet.
Rios didn’t offer any opinions or comments about the sad fate of the once thriving tennis facility which hosted the Miami Open until 2018. Rios showed a video of himself on the court, filmed by a friend or family member. Rios did make a gesture standing behind one baseline of his foot kicking the surface, which suggested his frustration or disappointment about how the sentimental arena has become an abandoned wasteland.
The USTA took over the facility last year and there is still tennis activity on the outer courts however the budget is limited and upkeep of the famous stadium are apparently too costly to maintain. By the looks of the condition of the center court and the videos by Rios of the insides of the arena, hallways, locker rooms, etc, it will surely cost millions to refurbish the court which hosted so many memorable matches since the 1980s.
Crandon Park · Key Biscayne · Marcelo Rios · Miami Open
Steve · July 20, 2026 at 4:59 pm
Did you see “Aces: The ATP No. 1 Club” a four part special on Amazon Prime? They interview every #1. All participated except for Rios. Agassi commented on Rios’ talent and the match you speak of. I guess Rios never changed. He still hates the press, hates interviews and seems to despise people he perceives as profiteers off his success.
It was very good. My only criticism is they gave, as usual, an inordinate amount of time to McEnroe. I wanna hear more from Lendl, more from Moya, more from the Russians. Rafter really stood out offering some new insights.
Scoop Malinowski · July 20, 2026 at 5:06 pm
Steve, I heard about this, actually a friend says it was made by a member of his club in Tenafly, David Cech. He said another played declined to be part of it, I think he said Safin or maybe Muster. Sounds really good, I will find it. Rios just isn’t interested in tennis anymore, he doesn’t follow any players on Instagram. Rios is in his own world now. Rios and Maradona did not have warm friendly relations with media.
Scoop Malinowski · July 20, 2026 at 5:07 pm
Tomic did it. He saved a MP with a serve out side and then a forehand winner inside in, risky play, then he cruised in the TB. He did the post match interview on court in his socks. His best title win in about eight years 250 Chengdu.
Steve · July 21, 2026 at 9:23 am
I watched the highlights if Tomic’s last three matches at Lincoln. It’s great to see him give full effort on court and control the ball the way he does. He plays like no one else these days.
Would love to see him get direct entry into slams one more time.
Scoop Malinowski · July 21, 2026 at 9:58 am
Tomic could be finally finding his magic touch again after all these years. He was walking around Newport no shirt and looks super fit, has abs too. But I know a hitting partner there and he said Tomic would only hit on practice courts for about 15 min. Most other players practiced for much longer. Through all the years of mediocre results Tomic never stopped believing.