Sunday, April 7, 2024 - 00:00 - Sunday, April 14, 2024 - 23:45The Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters is an unmissable sporting event, broadcast on television in more than 60 countries. This is the first major European tournament in the prestigious ATP World Master 1000 category. The 117th Edition will take place from April 6 to 14, 2024 in the unique setting of the Monte-Carlo Country Club. Find the top 10 international champions in a wonderful setting with a stepped pitch offering breathtaking views overlooking the Mediterranean. This is the tradition a few months before the start of the tournament. After Roland Garros recently, it was the turn of the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters to unveil its poster for the 2024 edition. It was created by the Riviera artist Eric Garence, renowned in particular for his illustrations of the different towns in the region.
A historic change
On April 2, 1893, the first Tennis Club in the Principality was inaugurated, the Lawn Tennis of Monte-Carlo, built in the cellars of the Hôtel de Paris. At the beginning of the 1920s, the tournament moved to the roof of Auto-Rivera, a garage then located in Beausoleil. This will be his penultimate move.It was with the arrival of George Butler, an American who made his fortune in cigarettes, that a major step was taken. A tennis enthusiast, George Butler campaigned extensively with the Société des Bains de Mer for the construction of a large-scale tennis court in the territory of Saint Roman, which would thus be in line with the image of the Principality.The Club was inaugurated with great fanfare in February 1928, by H.S.H. Prince Louis II of Monaco, in the presence of an audience of crowned heads, including King Gustav V of Sweden, tennis enthusiast, the Duke of Connaught, Prince Nicolas of Greece, Grand Duchess Hélène and Grand Duke Andrew of Russia. Now with a sports hall in the basement, professional locker rooms, but also 3 more courts than at the start, the Tennis Club offers improvements to its champions as well as to the public every year. Because at a time not so long ago, it was the members of the Club who lent their locker rooms to the players.It would be renamed ten months later: “Le Monte-Carlo Country Club”. It was only in 2006 that the Monte-Carlo Country Club joined forces with the famous watchmaking brand, in order to give the tournament the name we know today: Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters.
The renewal with the Open era
With the advent of the Open era in 1969, professional players participated and the tournament was among the most prestigious. It is now part of the Masters 1000. Unlike other tournaments in this category, the thirty best players in the world are not required to participate although most of them choose to register. The women's tournament was organized in the 1960s and 1970s. The last edition dates from 1982.The Rolex Monte-Carlo Tennis Masters, the first major tournament of the European season, brings together 56 players on clay in a direct elimination bracket comprising six rounds. Matches are played in two winning sets with tie-breaks in each set. As for the doubles tournament, it pits 24 teams, or 48 players, against each other in a five-round knockout tournament. Among these teams, the eight best ranked are seeded and are bye from the first round.Thus, in 1897, the first tennis tournament in Monegasque history took place in the Principality, under the name Monte-Carlo Tennis Championship. From the start, the tournament is played for both men and women and in two categories. Open, doubles and handicap tournaments. The first years were also dominated by the Doherty brothers, two Britons who had notably shone at Wimbledon.Rafael Nadal is the Prince of Monegasque clay with 11 victories in singles and 1 victory in doubles. He is far ahead of illustrious names such as Ilie Nastase, Bjorn Borg or Thomas Muster all with 3 victories or Novak Djokovic with 2 victories.
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