Fun facts about the Madrid Open that you probably didn’t know
With the Madrid Open underway, let’s look at some interesting facts you probably didn’t know about the tournament and some of its memorable players, like Rafael Nadal.
The Madrid Open is regarded as one of the world’s biggest professional clay-court tennis tournaments and has given us many memorable moments.
It is part of both the ATP and WTA’s professional tours. Although, it was not always like that, as during the inaugural 2002 event it was a men’s only tournament. The event was held at the Madrid Arena until 2008 but was changed to the La Caja Magica, which means “magic box” in Spanish, in 2009 – a fitting name for a special tournament.
Strangely, they changed the clay in the 2012 Madrid Open from the famous red to a brand-new blue clay. However, the players criticised the change of colour, resulting in it being switched back the following year.
The ‘boss’ of the Madrid Open is Feliciano Lopez, who was named the tournament director in 2019 while still playing professional tennis. The Spaniard played the tournament for 17 consecutive years, with his best result coming in 2011 when he reached the third round.
After being announced as the new tournament director, he said: “My goal is for them [players] to feel as comfortable as possible during the time that they are competing on our excellent clay courts, and this tournament continues to be a priority for them and a favourite for the fans press and sponsors.”
It comes as no surprise that the ‘King of Clay’, Rafael Nadal, holds the record for most Madrid titles. Nadal is a five-time tournament winner, with his first title coming in 2005. The tennis great lifted the trophy for the first time after defeating Ivan Ljubicic. Their final is considered the best final in the tournament’s history with Nadal coming back from two sets to love to claim his maiden title in the Spanish capital.
Since then, Nadal added titles in 2010, 2013 and 2014, with his latest victory coming in 2017.
Although Nadal has an impressive record at the tournament, his rival Roger Federer has some milestones of his own. Federer is the only player to have won the Madrid Open on all surfaces. The tournament was played on hard courts during the first few years before they switched to blue and red clay courts.
WTA star Petra Kvitova has set the record for having the most titles in the women’s category. She has three Madrid Open titles to her name, one more than Serena Williams and Simona Halep.
