Madrid Open: Start date, how to watch, past winners, history & more

The clay-court season has begun and later this month one of its most iconic events, the Madrid Open, gets underway with ATP Masters 1000 and WTA 1000 tournaments being held in the Spanish capital.

The Madrid Open is one of the most significant stops of the clay-court swing and is once again set to attract some of the world's best players.

Carlos Alcaraz was the men's champion in 2023, while Aryna Sabalenka came out on top in the women's competition and here is a look at all you need to know before the tournament returns in late April.

Madrid Open Dates

Both the men's and women's tournaments at the Madrid Open will begin on Tuesday 23rd April and they will run for just shy of two weeks, concluding on Sunday 5th May.

Madrid Open Venue

As has been the case since 2009, the Madrid Open will take place on the outdoor clay courts at La Caja Magica - the Magic Box - otherwise known as Manzanares Park Tennis Center in Madrid, Spain.

Madrid Open How to watch

The Madrid Open 2024 will be available to watch on bet365's Sports Live Streaming platform, as well as Tennis TV.

Madrid Open Favourites

Defending men's champion Alcaraz is sure to be among the favourites to win the men's event at the Madrid Open this year.

The Spaniard won his first title of the season at last month's Indian Wells Masters but will be better-equipped when he takes to the clay courts in his home country.

Novak Djokovic will be another to keep an eye on as he looks to get his season on track after an underwhelming performance at Indian Wells.

Jannik Sinner will also be considered among the favourites after an exceptional start to 2024, which has already featured three titles - the Australian Open, the ATP Rotterdam and the Miami Open.

Two-time champion Sabalenka will be among the favourites to win the WTA part of the Madrid Open but could face fierce competition from the likes of last year's runner-up Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff and Elena Rybakina.

Greek ace Maria Sakkari, meanwhile, was a semi-finalist in the event in 2023 and is another to monitor after she reached the final four of the Charleston Open earlier this month.

Madrid Open History

The Madrid Open was first played at the Madrid Arena back in 2002 and was initially played on hard-courts and featured only male players.

In 2009, though, that changed as it moved to La Caja Magica and became not only a clay-court tournament but a combined ATP-WTA event.

It is played on red clay courts, although a blue clay court was trialled back in 2012.

The blue court did not go down well and after complaints from players such as Rafael Nadal and Djokovic, the previous red surface returned the following year.

Madrid Open Past Winners

Nadal has won the men's competition at the Madrid Open a record five times but his last title came back in 2017, when he beat Dominic Thiem in straight sets.

The last two Madrid Open titles have gone the way of young Spaniard Alcaraz, who won in three sets against Jan-Lennard Struff last year.

Djokovic, meanwhile, won the event for the third time in 2019, while Alexander Zverev also came out on top in 2018 and 2021.

The women's event began in 2009 with Dinara Safina having been the first player to win it.

But it is Petra Kvitova who is the competition's most successful female, having won it in 2011, 2015 and 2018.

Last year's champion Sabalenka, however, is not far behind, having won her second title with victory over Swiatek in last year's final.

Other previous champions of the women's tournament include Ons Jabeur, Simona Halep, Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams.