Fans don't want to see one-sided matches between players": Madrid tournament ready for radical change

le 30/05/2025 à 19h17

In the middle of Roland-Garros, the year's second Grand Slam, other tournaments like Rome and Madrid are discussing their ambitions for greatness.

In Rome, a fifth Grand Slam is being considered, as expressed by the director of the Italian Tennis Federation, Angelo Binaghi. In Madrid, however, the ideas are quite different and could even challenge the current rules of tennis.

Speaking to RG, Madrid Open director Gerard Tsobanian confirmed that his tournament will likely undergo changes:

"Why limit ourselves to a Grand Slam? We want a 'Super Slam.' It wouldn't just mean more prize money, more ranking points, or fewer players. I don’t think 128-player draws will exist forever. I don’t believe that’s the best solution.

Fans want to see rivalries as soon as possible. They don’t want to watch one-sided matches between players. We want to reach the Grand Slam weekend—where the most exciting matches happen—more quickly. Everything is speeding up; people have less patience and less time.

There are so many other things happening simultaneously. Tennis must adapt. We should shorten match durations. We need to create a slightly faster dynamic, like in golf. Playing 18 holes in golf takes too long.

Younger generations don’t have that level of patience anymore—they prefer shorter, more intense sports. The same goes for tennis. We should try to ensure matches aren’t too long. We need to reach the suspenseful moments or the end of the match faster."

Tsobanian also mentioned the possible return of the famous blue clay, which caused major controversy during its only use in 2012:

"The idea hasn’t been abandoned. Blue was a good choice, but there was bad luck and a lack of preparation. The drainage didn’t work properly, causing issues. Next time, we’ll prepare it correctly.

I'm not fond of the idea of creating a fifth Grand Slam. Traditions are a good thing to keep. Already tennis has changed quite a lot with rackets providing more power, balls with less pressure loss, strings adding yet more power. All this favouring taller more powerful players (especially for the serve), but at the cost of a less controlled tennis. Players are often mishitting the ball from beyond the base line and lack control of slower balls within the court and not to mention when they approach the net. If any variations are to be made I would do it for the serve, making it less advantageous for the tallest more powerful players. As for blue clay, absolutely not. I remember 2012 when it was used in Madrid. It was terrible. Madrid has always wanted to be different. I truly hope the ATP will not agree to zny such changes.

I'm LOVING the sound of ALL of what I just read here...EXCITING!

That blue clay is infamous, not famous.