The Mutua Madrid Open announced on Wednesday that as from 2021, it will be a two-week tournament. The extension reaffirms the spirit of growth at the only combined ATP Masters 1000 and WTA Premier Mandatory to be played in Europe. The news means that next season the Mutua Madrid Open will take place from 27 April to 9 May in the Caja Mágica.

“We’re happy to have achieved the goal of becoming a two-week tournament”, said Feliciano López, director of the Mutua Madrid Open. “We sought this expansion and it is well-deserved, necessary and will allow us to enjoy the best tennis in the world at the Caja Mágica for a few more days. I’m sure that both our sponsors and all the fans will welcome this news with open arms, as well as the city of Madrid, which will receive more visitors for a longer period of time”.

“The Mutua Madrid Open is held in incredibly high regard across the tennis community”, said Steve Simon, WTA Chairman and CEO. “This two-week format will allow the Madrid organizers to showcase this world-class event in the beautiful city of Madrid as truly one of the premier events on the WTA Tour and within the sport of tennis”.

“It’s fantastic how much the tournament has grown since 2002, when we played its first edition at Casa de Campo”, remembered Manolo Santana, the Mutua Madrid Open’s honorary president. “The two weeks of competition we’ll have as from next year will help us become one of the most important events on the calendar”.

As part of the European indoor hard-court swing at the end of the season, the Mutua Madrid Open was first played as an ATP Masters 1000 event in 2002. In 2009, the tournament underwent the biggest growth in its history when it moved to the Caja Mágica, changed surfaces to clay and became a combined event with the addition of the women’s WTA Premier Mandatory competition. Starting next season, the Mutua Madrid Open will take another step forward as it becomes a two-week event.

In 2021, the Mutua Madrid Open will start on Tuesday 27 April with the WTA qualifying round, while the first round of the main draw in the women’s tournament will take place on Thursday 29. The ATP qualifiers will begin on Saturday 1 May, with the first round starting on Sunday 2.