Real Madrid’s Santiago Bernabeu could host Carlos Alcaraz, Yannik Sinner, Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff during the Madrid Open
Leveraging the global popularity of Real Madrid and the Santiago Bernabeu is the latest marketing strategy for the Madrid Open to increase its profile.
In recent years, part of its strategy has been to change the clay surface to an eye-catching blue, use fashion models instead of ball boys, and hold tournaments virtually during the 2020 coronavirus pandemic – with players competing on gaming consoles.
“We have always been pioneers,” said tournament director Feliciano Lopez.
“We’ve always been a very innovative and technical championship. We’ve always been the ones taking the biggest risks in that regard, always intending to do something new and surprise people.”
But moving to the Bernabeu is more than just a glamorous photo opportunity.
The event expanded to include a 96-player singles draw and doubles matches over two weeks, meaning it quickly outgrew Caja Magica.
The venue, about five miles south of central Madrid, has three main performance courts, 11 outdoor courts and five indoor courts, but still lacks practice facilities.
In recent years, players have used several other private venues around the city to relieve crowding.
For Real Madrid, it marks another opportunity to show how their £1.5bn future stadium can host other sporting events.
The grass football field can be divided into six sections, which are mechanically slid and sunk into the ground to form a greenhouse-style storage area.
Madrid president Florentino Perez, who regularly attends tennis matches at Caja Magica, has long wanted to bring the sport to the Bernabeu, most notably in 2019 when he proposed hosting an exhibition match between Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.
The stadium will also host NFL games later this year.
American pop superstar Taylor Swift performed twice at the venue in 2024, but she ran into disputes with local residents over noise pollution and has not held a music event since.
