The Mutua Madrid Open announced this Wednesday that from 2021 it will be a two-week tournament, an extension that reaffirms the spirit of growth of the only ATP Masters 1000 and WTA Premier Mandatory that is disputed in Europe. Thus, next season the Mutua Madrid Open will take place from April 27 to May 9 at the Caja Mágica.
“We are happy to have achieved the goal of becoming a two-week tournament,” said Feliciano López, director of the Mutua Madrid Open. “It is a pursued, deserved and necessary growth that will allow us to enjoy more days of the best tennis in the world at the Caja Mágica. I am sure that both our sponsors and all the fans will receive this great news with open arms, as well as the city of Madrid that will receive more visitors for a longer time ”.
“The Mutua Madrid Open is highly valued in the world of tennis”said Steve Simon, president and CEO of the WTA. “This new two-week format will allow the organizers to showcase this world-class event in the wonderful city of Madrid as one of the main tournaments on the WTA circuit and within tennis.”
“It is fantastic how much the tournament has grown since 2002, when we held the first edition in Casa de Campo”, recalled Manolo Santana, honorary president of the Mutua Madrid Open. “The two weeks of competition that we will have starting next year will help us position ourselves as one of the most important events on the calendar.”
Located on the season-ending European indoor hard court tour, The Mutua Madrid Open debuted as an ATP Masters 1000 event in 2002. In 2009, the tournament experienced the highest growth in its history by moving to the Caja Mágica, going on to be played on clay and becoming a combined event by adding the women's competition with the WTA Premier Mandatory dispute. Starting the following season, the Mutua Madrid Open will take another leap by increasing its duration to two weeks.
In 2021, the Mutua Madrid Open It will begin on Tuesday, April 27 with the WTA preliminary phase and from Thursday 29, the first round of the final draw of the women's tournament will be played. The ATP qualifying phase will begin on Friday 30 and the first round will be held on Sunday, May 2.