The Mutua Madrid Open

The Madrid Open is the biggest European tournament of the year so far. Although existing only since 2002 as a Masters 1000 tournament, the Madrid Open has become a tennis event not to be missed on the calendar. Alongside Rome and Monte Carlo, this tournament is one of the 3 main events on clay, where every year the best women and men tennis players confront each other a few weeks before the most iconic tournament on this surface: the French Open.

Out of the men who won the tournament, Rafael Nadal has been the most frequent winner, lifting the trophy 5 times. In women’s tennis, Petra Kvitova, who has won the tournament in three editions, is the most successful woman player in the capital of Spain. The current title holders are Carlos Alacaraz and Ons Jabeur.

The Madrid Open has the particularity of having been played on hard indoor courts from 2002 to 2008 in the Madrid Arena.

Since 2009, it has been played on outdoor clay courts at the Caja Mágica. However, in 2012 on the idea of Ion Tiriac -at the time owner of this event-, the tournament was played on a blue clay. He believed that this will make the matches more interesting for the spectators.

Following this tournament, figures such as Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic threatened to boycott the Madrid tournament if it was not played on clay for the next editions. This eventually led to the return of the red clay from 2013. We can expect interesting matches for the next two weeks in Madrid , where every year players adapt their game to the unique workings of clay.

For the 2023 edition, it is clearly interesting to look at the players who are the most likely to lift the trophy in the Caja Mágica on May 6, for women and May 7, for men.

In the men’s draw, Carlos Alcaraz is the undisputed favorite. Not only is he the current world number one and defending champion, but he just won the Barcelona Open last week by beating Stefanos Tsitsipas in a great battle. As a reminder, Alcaraz is the youngest player in the Open Era to be ranked number one in the ATP ranking.

Obviously, Stefanos Tsitsipas, who is probably his biggest rival on clay, is one of the other main favorites in Madrid. Among other serious outsiders, Holger Rune is attracting more and more attention from tennis connoisseurs every month. Earlier this month, he was a finalist in Monte Carlo (ATP Tour Masters 1000) and last week he won the Munich tournament (ATP 250). Winner in Monte-Carlo, Andrey Rublev is also one of the players with a card to play in the capital of Spain, like Daniil Medvedev, who has already won 4 titles and 31 matches this year.

In the women’s draw, Iga Światek is the heavy favorite. The 21-year-old Polish player is not only the current world number one in the WTA ranking, but also a two-time winner of the French Open, which is played on the same surface as the Madrid Open: red clay. Światek also won the Stuttgart tournament (WTA 500) last week, again on clay. Other favorites in the tournament include Aryna Sabalenka, finalist in Stuttgart last week, but also Jessica Pegula, current world number 3 and finalist in Madrid last year. It will also be interesting to have a look tothe performances of other players with a good draw such as Caroline Garcia, Coco Gauff or Daria Kasatkina. With good results last week in Stuttgart, Paula Badosa also arrives in Madrid in good shape.

The new features for the 2023 edition are the expansion of the tournament to two weeks -12 days of matches, to be exact- and a main draw with 96 players, both men and women (this already existed for women but is new for men). These new aspects allow the Madrid Open to become as an important annual tennis event -outside of the 4 Grand Slams- as the Davis and Fed Cups, the ATP and WTA Finals, or even the Sunshine Double.

Another feature this year is a very important number of withdrawals, especially in the men’s table. Novak Djokovic, Jannik Sinner, Rafael Nadal, Marin Cilic, Nick Kyrgios, Borna Coric or Matteo Berretini, to name but a few, will be absent in Madrid this year. In addition, it is worth noting the presence of veterans such as Stan Wawrinka or Andy Murray -both Grand Slam winners- in the capital of Spain.

Also in the women’s draw, the absence of favorites such as Ons Jabeur -the title holder and finalist last week in Stuttgart- or Belinda Bencic -winner in Charleston this month- leaves more space in the draw for lower ranked players.

Known for its electric atmosphere, this tournament brings passionate tennis fans to watch their favorite athletes perform in Madrid. Taking place in the Spanish capital, one of the liveliest and most vibrant cities in Europe, the Madrid Open is an event where there is always a festive atmosphere both on and off the court.

Let’s see what players will be lifting the trophy next week in the Caja Mágica!