Madrid Open 2024 Preview: When is it, who is playing & what is the prize money?
The build-up to Roland Garros continues, as both tours are set to head to the Spanish capital for the Madrid Open.
And we, at Tennishead, have all the information you need to know ahead of the ATP/WTA 1000 tournament:
When is the Madrid Open 2024?
The main draw of the WTA tournament will kick-off first, with opening round matches beginning on Tuesday 23rd April, followed by the ATP main draw starting a day later on Wednesday 24th April.
Finals weekend will take place between Saturday 4th and Sunday 5th May, with the ATP doubles and WTA singles finals taking place on the former, followed by the ATP singles and WTA doubles finals being held on the latter.
Play on most days will commence at 11am local time (10am BST), with night sessions getting underway at the later time of 8pm in Madrid (7pm BST).
Qualifying for both singles draws will be conducted between Monday 22nd April and Tuesday 23rd April.
Ready⁉️ PLAY ???? #MMOPEN pic.twitter.com/u1vN0DGJ5H
— #MMOPEN (@MutuaMadridOpen) April 5, 2024
Where is the Madrid Open held?
The tournament in Madrid has been held at La Caja Magica, meaning The Magic Box, ever since switching from hard to clay courts back in 2009.
There are a total of eight match courts on the La Caja Magica, headlined by three courts under one structure that all have retractable roofs.
Estadio Manolo Santana is the biggest of those, honouring the Madrid-bornk Grand Slam champion, and has a capacity of 12,500.
This is supported by the Estadio Arantxa Sanchez Vicario (3,500 seats) and Estadio 3 (2,500 seats).
???????? M A D R I D ????????#MMOPEN pic.twitter.com/dv9R2gbnPh
— #MMOPEN (@MutuaMadridOpen) April 8, 2024
Who is playing the Madrid Open 2024?
The Madrid Open will welcome the top ATP and WTA talent one again, with Australian Open champion Jannik Sinner leading the men’s field.
Novak Djokovic was set to be the top seed for the tournament in the Spanish capital, but has since withdrawn for a second consecutive year.
See you soon, @DjokerNole ????
With Djokovic's withdrawal, Sinner will be the No.1 seed at a Masters 1000 for the first time#MMOpen pic.twitter.com/Nie2HnulFp
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) April 20, 2024
Joining Sinner as the top three seeds are two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz and Daniil Medvedev.
Alcaraz has won 10 consecutive matches at his home Masters 1000 event, but there are doubts over the Spaniard’s participation this year after he withdraw from both the Monte Carlo Masters and the Barcelona Open with a right arm injury.
However, there is more positivity surrounding record five-time winner Rafael Nadal at the moment, after the 37-year-old played his first clay court tournament in two years at the Barcelona Open.
Nadal has already arrived in Madrid, as the Mallorcan looks to potentially play this tournament for the final time in his career.
Rafa está en casa ????#MMOPEN pic.twitter.com/tzzEU2NXnW
— #MMOPEN (@MutuaMadridOpen) April 19, 2024
The only other former champion competing at the Madrid Open this year is 2018 and 2021 winner Alexander Zverev, who comes into the tournament as the fifth seed.
ATP wildcards have been awarded to Madrid-born teenager Martin Landaluce, as well as other young prospects including Zizou Bergs, Joao Fonseca, Jungcheng Shang and 16-year-old American Darwin Blanch, who will play Nadal in the opening round.
Here’s the ATP draw!@atptour | @ATPTour_ES | #MMOPEN pic.twitter.com/31WIHwr1qF
— #MMOPEN (@MutuaMadridOpen) April 22, 2024
Iga Swiatek headlines the WTA singles entry list, as the Pole eyes the biggest clay court title that she is yet to win.
Last year, the world No.1 was beaten in the final by Aryna Sabalenka, who as a result claimed her second title in the Spanish capital.
They are joined by other top seeds including US Open champion Coco Gauff, Stuttgart Open winner Elena Rybakina and Maria Sakkari.
Sabalenka is not the only player in the field to have previously won the title in Madrid, with Ons Jabeur (2022) also searching for more success at the tournament after a recent run of poor results.
Wildcards have been offered to 2009 finalist Caroline Wozniacki, 2021 US Open champion Emma Raducanu, former Madrid quarter-finalist Amanda Anisimova and teenagers Alexandra Eala, Robin Montgomery, Victoria Jimenez Kasintseva, and sisters Linda and Brenda Fruhvirtova.
Simona Halep received an initial wildcard, but returned it after withdrawing from the tournament after revealing that her body needed ‘a little more time to be ready’.
READ MORE: Rafael Nadal willing to ‘give everything and die’ at Roland Garros
How many ranking points are on offer at the Madrid Open 2024?
Ranking points are becoming more important than ever, with the race to the Paris Olympics coming to a close after Roland Garros.
Here is a breakdown of the points on offer in Madrid over the next fortnight:
| Event | W | F | SF | QF | R16 | R32 | R64 | R128 | Q | Q2 | Q1 |
| Men’s singles | 1000 | 650 | 400 | 200 | 100 | 50 | 30 | 10 | 20 | 10 | 0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Men’s doubles | 600 | 360 | 180 | 90 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | |
| Women’s singles | 650 | 390 | 215 | 120 | 65 | 35 | 10 | 30 | 20 | 2 | |
| Women’s doubles | 10 | — | — | — | — |
What is the prize money for the Madrid Open 2024?
With the Madrid Open being only a level below a Grand Slam tournament, singles players can bank just under a million dollars if they claim the title.
Here is a breakdown of the prize money for both singles and doubles players in the Spanish capital:
| Event | W | F | SF | QF | R16 | R32 | R64 | R128 | Q2 | Q1 |
| Men’s singles | $963,225 | $512,260 | $284,590 | $161,995 | $88,440 | $51,665 | $30,255 | $20,360 | $11,820 | $6,130 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Women’s singles | ||||||||||
| Men’s doubles* | $391,680 | $207,360 | $111,360 | $55,690 | $29,860 | $16,320 | — | — | — | — |
| Women’s doubles* | — | — | — | — |
*Per team
Previous winners of the Madrid Open
The most successful singles players at the Madrid Open are Rafael Nadal (five titles) and Petra Kvitova (three titles), but the latter will not be competing this year after falling pregnant with her first child.
Last year saw Carlos Alcaraz beat surprise lucky loser finalist Jan-Lennard Struff in the final, becoming the first man to defend the Madrid singles title since Rafael Nadal in 2014.
Aryna Sabalenka lost in the first round at the Madrid Open when attempting to defend her title in 2022, but bounced back last year to beat top seed Iga Swiatek in a thrilling final.
Here are all of the past 10 winners at the Madrid Open:
| Year | Men’s Singles Champion | Women’s Singles Champion | Men’s Doubles Champions | Women’s Doubles Champions |
| 2013 | Rafael Nadal (3) | Serena Williams (2) | Bob Bryan (5) & Mike Bryan (5) | Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova & Lucie Safarova |
| 2014 | Rafael Nadal (4) | Maria Sharapova | Daniel Nestor (5) & Nenad Zimonjic (2) | Sara Errani (2) & Roberta Vinci (2) |
| 2015 | Andy Murray (2) | Petra Kvitova (2) | Rohan Bopanna & Florin Mergea | Casey Dellacqua & Yaroslava Shvedova |
| 2016 | Novak Djokovic (2) | Simona Halep | Jean-julien Rojer & Horia Tecau | Caroline Garcia & Kristina Mladenovic |
| 2017 | Rafael Nadal (5) | Simona Halep (2) | Lukasz Kubot & Marcelo Melo | Chan Yung-jan & Martina Hingis |
| 2018 | Alexander Zverev | Petra Kvitova (3) | Nikola Mektic & Alexander Peya | Ekaterina Makarova & Elena Vesnina |
| 2019 | Novak Djokovic (3) | Kiki Bertens | Jean-julien Rojer (2) & Horia Tecau (2) | Hsieh Su-wei & Barbora Strycova |
| 2020 | Not held due to the Covid-19 pandemic | – | – | – |
| 2021 | Alexander Zverev (2) | Aryna Sabalenka | Marcel Granollers & Horacio Zeballos | Barbora Krejcikova & Katerina Siniakova |
| 2022 | Carlos Alcaraz | Ons Jabeur | Wesley Koolhof & Neal Skupski | Gabriela Dabrowski & Giuliana Olmos |
| 2023 | Carlos Alcaraz (2) | Aryna Sabalenka (2) | Karen Khachanov & Andrey Rublev | Victoria Azarenka (2) & Beatriz Haddad Maia |
How can you watch the Madrid Open 2024?
You can watch the Madrid Open on Sky Sports or Now TV in the United Kingdom and Ireland, or on Tennis Channel in the United States of America.
For more information on how you can watch the joint event in the Spanish capital in your location, visit either the official ATP website here or the official WTA website here.
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