If you are on the DC Open website, chances are you will see a poster hanging which shows Frances Tiafoe — a competitor in the field from nearby Maryland — flanked by other men such as Andy Murray and Taylor Fritz and women such as Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula.

It is a simple visualization of a complicated change to a tournament that began Monday and has been around for men since 1969, added women via a simultaneous but lower-tier and less-promoted event in 2009 and now is taking a further step by touting itself as the first combined ATP-WTA 500 event. That is two levels below Grand Slams and one level below Masters 1000s and was accomplished by elevating the women’s portion through the lease of what had been a hard-court tourney in San Jose, California, played during the same week.