Casper Ruud is a giant
They said he was not a big-match player. They said he crumbles when pressure ramps up. They said he doesn’t have the game to win the big tournaments. The cynics based their theories on the fact that he had lost all five of the big finals he had played, three in Grand Slams and two […]
Who would have thought, that 10-year-old boy…
Sixteen years ago a wide-eyed young Norwegian visited the Caja Magica to enjoy the best tennis in the world. It was 2009, the first year the tournament was held in the Caja Magica, when Roger Federer would win his second Mutua Madrid Open in a final against Rafa Nadal. Seven years later that boy, who […]
First time lucky
Sorana Cirstea and Anna Kalinskaya are the queens of the 2025 Mutua Madrid Open. The pair beat Elise Mertens and Veronika Kudermetova in an extremely tight final, 6-7, 6-2, 12-10. They needed three match points, but they eventually closed out the first WTA 1000 of their careers. Their names now join the great champions of […]
Aryna, Aryna, Aryna!
Perhaps he did it subconsciously; “Please welcome Aryna, Aryna, Aryna… Sabalenka!”, roared the announcer in the Manolo Santana Stadium on Sunday at 18:30, when Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff stepped on court for the final of the Mutua Madrid Open. He shouted Aryna’s name three times. It was as if he already knew what was […]
Draper vs. Ruud: a final in the spirit of Rafael Nadal
Destiny can be a fickle thing. At the first edition of the Mutua Madrid Open without Rafael Nadal, one of the men’s finalists cut his teeth at the Rafa Nadal Academy and the other is the only left-handed player to reach the top five this century, other than the Mallorcan. Months after Nadal’s retirement from […]
Sabalenka joins the eleven-thousand club
We’re running out of superlatives to describe Aryna Sabalenka’s feats. In her career in general, but particularly in Madrid. With her win on Saturday she has matched Petra Kvitova as the player with the most titles in the history of the Mutua Madrid Open. The triple crown is hers. The difference this time, though, is […]
In sickness and in health…
Six years ago Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos said ‘I do’ and their doubles career was born. The union could not have got off to a better start, winning a title on their first outing together. Since then, the Spanish-Argentine duo have not spent a moment apart, besides the odd tournament when one of them […]
In search of the twelfth apostle
There are just a few hours before the curtain falls on the jewel in the Mutua Madrid Open’s crown and the last match in the tournament’s 23rd edition. Jack Draper and Casper Ruud will cross swords in a mouth-watering final. Here are seven reasons not to miss the big battle: Both men are bidding for their […]
Marta Gayoso, champion of the Under-16 #MMOpen
After 16 heats and a scintillating final phase, we now have a winner. Marta Gayoso is the girl’s champion of the Under-16 Mutua Madrid Open. She beat Vega Aguilar in a tight three-set battle that lasted over two hours. Both players took to the court determined to conquer the Caja Magica and claim one of […]
Two inspirational figures in the career of the great promise of French tennis
Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard is one of the most exciting talents in world tennis. At just 21 years of age, the Frenchman already has a place among the elite of world tennis and has already enjoyed a spell among the world’s top thirty players. Despite his youth, he already has two ATP Tour titles under his […]