1968 marked the beginning of men's professional tennis, when a handful of tournaments around the world adopted the "open" format, allowing both amateurs and professionals to participate for prize money. This select group of tournaments included both Wimbledon and the French Open. Previously, only amateurs were able to compete in tournaments, and were compensated with just enough in appearance fees to cover their travel and playing expenses. That same year, the United States Davis Cup team defeated the dominant Australian team 4-1, to win tennis' most prestigious competition. Winning the Davis Cup was a huge international accomplishment, and the top American players such as Arthur Ashe and Stan Smith were looking to capitalize on their success and abilities. It was at this point that then-Davis Cup captain and Washington native Donald Dell decided that he should bring an open tournament to the Nation's Capital.

Having successfully hosted two exhibition events featuring the Australian and U.S. Davis Cup teams at an indoor club in Rockville in 1967 and 1968, Dell knew that the Washington area would support a world-class tennis tournament. Bringing a professional tennis tournament to Washington proved to be no small feat. The first hurdle that stood in the way was choosing the tournament's surface. Dell's idea was to hold this new summer event on clay, an ordinary choice except that the current summer tennis circuit in the United States was held on grass, up to and including the U.S. Open in Forest Hills. But the tournament organizers persisted, arguing that a clay court event in July would not be detrimental to the training and preparation for the Open in late August.