After the Sunny Double, the tennis circuit suddenly transitions to the sand. In 2024, the value of performing on clay will increase, because it will also host the Olympic Games in Paris. In this regard, honored veterans Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal have scaled back their hard-court performances to better prepare for both Roland Garros and the 2024 Games, which will take place on the same courts in late July and August. Meanwhile, in April everyone is waiting for the first of the three clay “Masters”: in Monte Carlo, where the main forces will meet, and with an overlap in May, the two-week tournament will be held in Madrid. But first things first.
Related materials
“None of the young people can compare to the Big Three.” Reaction to the next Sinner title
ATP-250. Marrakesh (Morocco). April 1-7
Land, open courts. List of participants: Laszlo Djere (36th racket in the world on the date of application for the tournament), Sebastian Ofner (38), Daniel Evans (45), Alexander Shevchenko (51), Facundo Díaz Acosta (52), Lorenzo Sonego (55), Mariano Navone ( 59), Flavio Cobolli (62), Pavel Kotov (67). Complete application form.
The Hassan II Grand Prix has been held since 1984. The tournament was first held in Casablanca and since 2016 it moved to Marrakech. The current champion is Roberto Carballés-Baena. In the current draw, among the participants is the Russian Pavel Kotov, who reached the semi-finals here last year and has now won the first match.
Pavel Kotov
Photo: Sarah Stier/Getty Images
ATP-250. Estoril (Portugal). April 1-7
Land, open courts. List of participants: Hubert Hurkacz (8), Kasper Ruud (9), Lorenzo Musetti (26), Arthur Fis (43), Miomir Kecmanovic (47), Dominik Köpfer (49), Daniel Altmaier (53), Gael Monfils (54). Complete application form.
The Estoril Open tournament has been held since 1990 in Oeiras, and since 2015 it has moved to Cascais, a city and seaport in Portugal, center of the municipality of the same name within the district of Lisbon. The winners here were such famous tennis players as Thomas Muster (1995, 1996), Carlos Moyá (2000), Juan Carlos Ferrero (2001), David Nalbandian (2002, 2006), Novak Djokovic (2007), Roger Federer (2008). Juan Martín del Potro (2011, 2012), Stan Wawrinka (2013), Stefanos Tsitsipas (2019). In 2003, Russian Nikolai Davydenko became the champion here, and Marat Safin (2004) and Davydenko himself (2006, 2008) reached the final. The current winner of the tournament is Casper Ruud, who topped the draw in this year’s draw.
Casper Ruud
Photo: Megan Briggs/Getty Images
ATP-250. Houston (United States). April 1-7
Land, open courts. List of participants: Ben Shelton (16), Francis Tiafoe (18), Francisco Serundolo (22), Thomas Martin Etcheverry (30), Jordan Thompson (33), Christopher Eubanks (34), Marcos Girón (48), Yannick Hanfman (58). Complete application form.
The United States Men’s Clay Court Championship has been played since 1910. The tournament has moved many times to cities and states in the United States. For quite some time it was played in Indianapolis (1969-1987), and since 2001 the competition has been held in Houston, Texas. More often than not, American tennis players became champions. Jimmy Connors has four wins (1974, 1976, 1978, 1979) and Andy Roddick has three wins (2001, 2002, 2005). The current champion is Francis Tiafoe, who leads this year’s draw along with Ben Shelton and Francisco Cerundolo.
WTA-500. Charleston (United States). April 1-7
Land, open courts. List of participants: Jessica Pegula (fifth racket in the world on the date of entering the tournament), Ons Jabeur (6), Maria Sakkari (9), Daria Kasatkina (12), Beatriz Haddad-Maia (13/WC), Ekaterina Alexandrova (16), Elina Svitolina (17), Veronika Kudermetova (19). Complete application form.
The tournament has been held since 1973. It played in Hilton Head (1973-1974, 1977-2000) and Amelia Island (1975-1976), before settling in Charleston, South Carolina, in 2001. Chris Evert has a record number of here titles: eight. Russian tennis players also distinguished themselves in Charleston: Nadezhda Petrova (2006), Daria Kasatkina (2017), Veronika Kudermetova (2021). Soviet tennis players Natalya Zvereva (1989) and Leila Meskhi (1991), Russian tennis players Anna Kournikova (1999), Elena Dementyeva (2005), Dinara Safina (2007), Vera Zvonareva (2008, 2010) and Elena Vesnina (2011, 2016) ). ) reached the final ). The current champion is Ons Jabeur, who topped the field this year alongside Jessica Pegula.
Related materials
Stevens stops Vesnina’s impressive advance
WTA-250. Bogota Colombia). April 1-7
Land, open courts. List of participants: Marie Bouzkova (40), Tatiana Maria (46), Sara Sorribes-Tormo (50), Cristina Buksha (67), Nadiya Podoroska (84), Laura Siegemund (87), Maria-Camila Osorio-Serrano (91), Camilla Rakhimova (95), Maria Timofeeva (102). Complete application form.
The women’s tournament has been held in Colombia since 1998. Local tennis player Fabiola Zuluaga has the record for titles: four. The last two ties were left to the German Tatiana María, who this year led the classification along with the Czech Marie Bouzkova. Russian Alexandra Panova (2012) once reached the final in Bogotá. This time Kamilla Rakhimova and Maria Timofeeva fight for the title.
Maria Timofeeva
Photo: Megan Briggs/Getty Images
ATP Masters 1000. Monte Carlo (Monaco). April 7-14
Land, open courts. List of participants: Novak Djokovic (1), Carlos Alcaraz (2), Jannik Sinner (3), Daniil Medvedev (4), Andrey Rublev (5), Alexander Zverev (6), Holger Rune (7), Hubert Hurkacz (8), Karen Khachanov (15), Roman Safiullin (42). Complete application form.
In the second week of April, the first of three clay Masters will take place, to which all the strongest have entered, including the leader of the world ranking Novak Djokovic, the 11-time Monte Carlo champion Rafael Nadal, as well as the heroes of the last weeks. Jannik Sinner, who has just become the second racket in the world, the champion of the last two years at Indian Wells, Carlos Alcaraz and the Russian Daniil Medvedev. Daniil was unable to defend last year’s title in Miami, losing a round before the final to Sinner. By the way, in Monte Carlo the tennis players can meet again in the semifinals if the draw places them in the middle of the draw. The current champion Andrei Rublev, who needs to defend 1,000 rating points, will also play in the Monaco “thousand”, which has been held since 1896. Note that before Rublev, Andrei Chesnokov (1990) became the champion of the tournament among national tennis players.
Related materials
Rublev beat 19-year-old Rune in the Monte Carlo final! A Russian won the Masters for the first time
ATP-500. Barcelona, Spain). April 15-21
Land, open courts. List of participants: Carlos Alcaraz (2), Andrey Rublev (6), Casper Ruud (8), Alex de Miñaur (10), Stefanos Tsitsipas (11), Hugo Humbert (15), Karen Khachanov (16), Sebastián Báez (19), Román Safiullin (39), Pavel Kotov (67). Complete application form.
“The Five Hundred” in Barcelona is another tournament where Rafael Nadal won more than 10 times – 12 – and where the famous Spaniard entered with a frozen rating. The Russian Marat Safin also won here (2000), who also reached the final (2003), as did Daniil Medvedev (2019). The champion of the last two editions was Carlos Alcaraz.
ATP-250. Munich, Germany). April 15-21
Land, open courts. List of participants: Alexander Zverev (5), Holger Rune (7), Jan-Lennard Struff (25), Felix Auger-Aliassime (36), Jack Draper (42), Dominik Köpfer (50), Marcos Giron (51), Yannick Hanfmann (56 ) ). Complete application form.
Munich is another long-standing tournament that has been held since the end of the 19th century. Among the winners were Russians: Nikolay Davydenko (2004, 2011) and Mikhail Yuzhny (2010). Mikhail was a finalist two more times (2007, 2009). The last two draws were in the hands of the Dane Holger Rune, who will now try to get a hat-trick.
ATP-250. Bucharest, Romania). April 15-21
Land, open courts. List of participants: Adrian Mannarino (20), Francisco Serundolo (21), Tallon Grikspor (26), Sebastian Korda (29), Laszlo Djere (35), Alejandro Tabilo (44), Miomir Kecmanovic (46), Gael Monfils (47). Complete application form.
The Bucharest tournament has rich traditions. It has been played since 1993, and Russians Andrei Cherkasov (1993) and Igor Andreev (2004, 2005) also became finalists. But after 2016 there was a pause, and this position went first to Hungary, then to Serbia and finally to Bosnia. And in 2024, the competition will resume again in Romania.
WTA-500. Stuttgart (Germany). April 15-21
Land, room. List of participants: Iga Swiatek (1), Arina Sabalenka (2), Corey Gauff (3), Elena Rybakina (4), Jessica Pegula (5), Ons Jabeur (6), Zheng Qinwen (7), Marketa Vondrousova (8), Lyudmila Samsonova (15), Ekaterina Alexandrova (16), Veronika Kudermetova (19), Anastasia Potapova (29). Complete application form.
Although the Stuttgart competition is not the “thousandth” event, it traditionally brings together the strongest. And now the entire top 8 has been included in the app. In addition to an honorary trophy, cash prizes and rating points, the champion traditionally receives one of the sponsor’s latest car models. The tournament has been played in Filderstadt since 1978 and in 2016 it moved to Stuttgart. The record holder for the number of titles is Martina Navratilova – six. Russian women also stood out here: Nadezhda Petrova (2006), Svetlana Kuznetsova (2009) and Maria Sharapova (2012-2014). The champion of the last two editions was the Polish Iga Swiatek.
Related materials
Sabalenka lost the Stuttgart final for the third time in a row: Arina was stopped again by Swiatek
WTA-250. Rouen (France). April 15-21
Land, room. List of participants: Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (22), Caroline García (27), Angelina Kalinina (36), Yuan Yue (37), Mirra Andreeva (38), Marie Bouzkova (39), Sloane Stephens (41), Anna Blinkova (44), Clara Burel (45), Elina Avanesyan (65). Complete application form.
This is a new tournament on the WTA circuit calendar, increasing its status over last year’s WTA-125 challenger. Four Russians were included in the application: Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Mirra Andreeva, Anna Blinkova and Elina Avanesyan.
Mirra Andreeva
Photo: Michael Owens/Getty Images
ATP Masters 1000. Madrid (Spain). April 23 – May 4
Outdoor hard courts. List of participants: Novak Djokovic (1), Carlos Alcaraz (2), Jannik Sinner (3), Daniil Medvedev (4), Alexander Zverev (5), Andrey Rublev (6), Holger Rune (7), Kasper Ruud (8), Karen Khachanov (16), Roman Safiullin (39), Aslan Karatsev (41), Pavel Kotov (67). Complete application form.
The Madrid tournament was included in the Masters Series in 2002. Additionally, it was initially held in the fall indoors and on hard courts, and in 2009 it was moved to the spring and clay part of the schedule. Rafael Nadal has five wins here, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic have three each. Marat Safin also distinguished himself here in 2004. In addition, Nadal, Federer and Britain’s Andy Murray managed to win here on two different surfaces. And the Swiss also stood out in 2012 in experimental blue clay. However, this coating was immediately abandoned due to the increased risk of injury. The champion of the last two editions was the Spanish Carlos Alcaraz. Recently, the tournament has become a two-week event and is designed for 96 participants and seven rounds, like the Indian Wells and Miami Masters.
Related materials
Madrid submitted to Alcaraz for the second time: its difference in the ranking with Djokovic is minimal
WTA-1000. Madrid Spain). April 23 – May 4
Land, open courts. List of participants: Iga Swiatek (1), Arina Sabalenka (2), Corey Gauff (3), Elena Rybakina (4), Jessica Pegula (5), Ons Jabeur (6), Zheng Qinwen (7), Marketa Vondrousova (8), Daria Kasatkina (11), Lyudmila Samsonova (15), Ekaterina Alexandrova (16), Veronika Kudermetova (19), Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (22), Anna Kalinskaya (25), Anastasia Potapova (29), Mirra Andreeva (38), Anna Blinkova (44 ), Diana Schneider (62), Elina Avanesyan (65). Complete application form.
The women’s Madrid appeared in 2009 with the move to clay. The first champion was the Russian Dinara Safina. Maria Sharapova also distinguished herself in 2014. Sharapova (2013) and Svetlana Kuznetsova (2015) also reached the final. The current winner is Aryna Sabalenka, who defeated Iga Swiatek in the decider.
Related materials
Sabalenka took the Madrid title and 1.1 million euros in prizes. Schedules, layouts and grids.
