Monday on the grounds of Cincinnati’s Linder Family Tennis Center had the feeling of a zoo when all animals are awake and out in the sun: Everywhere you looked, stars and familiar faces crossed paths with fans faster than the latter could fumble for their cameras.

It was the first day of the new era at the Western and Southern Financial Group’s Women’s Open, now a Premier-level event. The draw was stacked, no one had lost yet, and all were warming up wherever they could find a spot. “Let’s go see Ivanovic practice on – hey, was that Francesca Schiavone that just whizzed by? And who is that, jogging around the Loge deck of Stadium Court? And her, over there – doing a foot-speed drill by the information desk?”

The practice courts were hot properties, as Caroline Wozniacki stretched in the shade behind fans pressed to the chain-link fence separating them and Dinara Safina flattening forehands. During the rain delay, Carla Suárez Navarro and Aleksandra Wozniak sauntered by fans taking shelter under the stadium; and later, Agnes Szavay strolled in peace through one spectator parking lot.