From 22 April to 5 May, the Mutua Madrid Open will once again welcome the best tennis players in the world. Rafael Nadal, Aryna Sabalenka, Carlos Alcaraz, Iga Swiatek, Novak Djokovic and Coco Gauff are just some of the names signed up to thrill the fans in the Caja Mágica.
On Tuesday 26 March, the ATP and the WTA published the list of players registered to compete in this year’s tournament. Defending champions, Alcaraz (in the men’s draw), and Sabalenka (in the women’s), will both be back in the Spanish capital to defend their crowns.
After the changes made last season, whereby the number of players in each draw was increased to 96, all of whom will battle it out on the clay of Madrid for twelve days of intense competition, the men’s list now includes a 79-player admission list.
As well as the winner of the two most recent editions of the event, the list includes stars such as Nadal, the man with the most titles in Madrid, Djokovic, the current world No. 1, Jannik Sinner, the recent Australian Open champion, and Alexander Zverev, a two-time winner in the Caja Mágica.
They will be joined by other hopefuls such as Daniil Medvedev, Andrey Rublev, Holger Rune, Casper Ruud and Alex de Minaur. Meanwhile, Marin Cilic, Denis Shapovalov and Matteo Berrettini will also be in the field, thanks to their protected ranking. Alejandro Davidovich, Roberto Carballés and Jaume Munar complete the list of home players.
For her part, Sabalenka, who has won two of the last three editions, will not have an easy task if she is to claim the title two years on the trot. World number one Iga Swiatek, who came so close to taking the spoils last year, will be intent on adding the Mutua Madrid Open title to her impressive trophy cabinet.
Likewise, among the pretenders to the throne, there will be other players who already know what it is to have a great result in Madrid, such as Ons Jabeur, who won in 2022, and Jessica Pegula, who was the runner-up in the same year. Also in with a great chance are Coco Gauff, Elena Rybakina, Maria Sakkari and Qinwen Zheng. As for the home players, Paula Badosa and Sara Sorribes both access the draw through their rankings.
The cut-off in the ATP Masters 1000 falls on Italy’s Luciano Darderi as the world No. 75, while in the WTA 1000 event it is Taylor Townsend, No. 72 in the world, who is the last player into the main draw.
After two passionate weeks of competition in the Caja Mágica, the best players in the world will be bidding to add their name to the prestigious Mutua Madrid Open winners’ circle on 5 May.
