2023 Monte Carlo Masters: Dates, Rafa Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz absent, draw, TV channels, prize money

The Monte Carlo Masters is traditionally the first ATP Masters 1000 clay-court event of the year and we give you all the important information you need to know ahead of the tournament.

When will the 2023 Monte Carlo Masters take place?

The 116th edition of the Monte Carlo Masters will start on Sunday April 9 with the grand finale taking place on Sunday April 16.

In case you didn’t know, the first tournament took place in 1897 and it only became an Open event in 1969. Although it is an ATP Masters 1000 tournament, it hasn’t had mandatory status since 2009.

What about the venue for the Monte Carlo Masters…

The clay-court tournament takes place at the Monte Carlo Country Club in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, France, a commune that borders on Monaco.

The showpiece court at the Monte-Carlo Country Club is named Court Rainier III – after Rainier III, Prince of Monaco, who ruled for over 50 years and was married to iconic American actress Grace Kelly.

Court Rainier III can host just over 10,000 spectators and it – along with the 10 other courts at the country club – has the sea as a spectacular backdrop.

Who is the defending champion in Monte Carlo?

Stefanos Tsitsipas made it back-to-back titles at the ATP Masters 1000 tournament last year as he defeated surprise finalist Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 6–3, 7–6 (7–3). Fokina took out the likes of Novak Djokovic, Taylor Fritz and Grigor Dimitrov en route to the final.

Who is the tennis king of Monte Carlo?

Rafael Nadal has won a record 11 titles on the red dirt in Monte Carlo, but his last title came in 2018 when he defeated Kei Nishikori in the final. It was also the last time he made it to the final.

The Spaniard also holds the record for most consecutive titles as he won eight in a row from 2005 until 2012 while his win-loss record at the tournament is 73–6 (92%).

Nadal, though, won’t be adding to those impressive statistics this year (more on that below).

Besides Tsitsipas, Novak Djokovic (2), Fabio Fognini and Stan Wawrinka are the other former champions in the main draw.

Which big-name players will miss this year’s tournament?

22-time Grand Slam winner Nadal became the first casualty on a brutal day for Monte Carlo Masters organisers on Tuesday as he withdrew as he is still not 100% following a hip injury.

Not long after, world No 2 Carlos Alcaraz announced he will also miss the season-opening ATP Masters event on clay due to injury.

Félix Auger-Aliassime, Pablo Carreño Busta and Denis Shapovalov will also not feature.

What about the seeds for this year’s event?

World No 1 Novak Djokovic will be the top seed for the Monte Carlo Masters and with Carlos Alcaraz absent, the rest of the 10 will get a boost. Djokovic is followed by Stefanos Tsitsipas, Daniil Medvedev, Casper Ruud, Andrey Rublev, Holger Rune, Jannik Sinner, Taylor Fritz and Karen Khachanov.

Any noteworthy wildcards?

Former champions Fognini and Wawrinka will go directly into the main draw thanks to wildcards. Following a host of withdrawals, the likes of Andy Murray, Jack Draper, Nicolás Jarry and Mackenzie McDonald all received direct entries.

More about the draw…

The draw for the 2023 Monte Carlo Masters will take place on Friday April 7 at 17:00 local time (16:00 BST).

Which TV channels will broadcast the Monte Carlo Masters?

Amazon Prime has the exclusive rights for ATP Masters 1000 tournaments in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

Canal+ and Eurosport will cover France while Sky will air the tournament in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Over in Spain, you can choose from Telefonica (Movistar) and Siccative (TVE) while Eurosport covers several other countries on mainland Europe.

Tennis Channel will cover the tournament in the United States with Canada covered by Rogers Sportsnet and TSN.

If you live in Australia then beInNSPORTS will be your channel of choice, SuperSport covers sub-Saharan Africa and ESPN provides coverage for Latin America.

What about the prize money and ranking points?

The prize purse stands at €5,779,335, which is roughly £5,053,108.