Madrid Tennis Open X Anniversary

We are celebrating our Xth year on planet Tennis (GLTA tennis but tennis at the end of the day) and we still believe the best is yet to come.

Since 2002 we have seen a lot, experience a lot, play a lot and sweat a lot. And we want to keep on playing, sweating and havinf fun. To celebrate our 10th birthday we are preparing a 10 out of 10 tournament in a 10 out of 10 venue, 10 out of ten tennis and 10 out of 10 parties!. Last year we had some much fun but this year we will be 10 times better.

Around late april-early may we will open the registration so that you can play in Madrid and party with us. Because yes, we are getting old, but we are not even teenagers! (Tha´s why we are also on facebook!)

Welcome to the Madrid Tennis Open 2011

The waiting is over...almost. In just few hours the sun, the water the balls and the green set courts will get full of players. And that`s equal to say that they will get full of life. 85 players and visitors will come to Madrid to celebrate tennis and friendship. A little group of friends, not as much as 85, but just four, Ángel, Mario, Jesús and Luis have been working the whole year to keep this sport dream alive. We have not been alone. That`s why we want to say a big "thank you" to the people to have supported us and will support us through the good and the not so good times.

(leer mas)

Some tips for Madrid Tennis Open 2011

- How to get there: the easiest way to reach the venue by public transport is reaching Plaza Castilla first. There are a lot of buses that goes there and 3 metro lines (L1, L9, L10). If you go by metro, follow the green signs where you will read "Terminal de superficie". Once you are in the outdoors terminal go to platform 43 and get bus number 178. Ask the bus driver for the Ciudad de la Raqueta nearest stop.
It will take you a 15 minutes ride to reach that stop. You will see a "Heineken España" sign and a bar on the corner called "London bar". Just turn right on that corner and you will see the venue. Another 5 minutes walk and you are there, ready to play.

- Important: there will be a tournament shuttle after friday´s dinner. The bus will leave the venue from the venue to the city at midnight (aprox)

- The weather is not being too bad this year, but the maximum temperatures will round the 33-35 degrees. That means you have to hydrate yourself steadily.

- Bring your protection and creams with you. And also your swimming trunks. The swimming pool is just there to be used and your body will thank to be sunk there and cool down a little.

- In this section you will find tips on how to drink and eat during a tournament and how to strech properly. Read them again.

- Please, be puntual at the star of each day and for everymatch. Is the players obligation to reach the desk not the desk obligation to reach the players.

- Warming up can no exceed 5 minutes.

- An air conditioned restaurant with good menus at reasonable prices is available at the venue.

Do you wanna play with me?

We have booked the best courts, have the best facilities in town, the brightest sun, the most refreshing pool, the most incredible terrace to have something at the open air and the hottest and funkiest night life. We want you to feel the experiencie of playing in the same green set courts where the professionals play in our new venue La ciudad de la Raqueta. And, of course, we want you to have the best party of the summer, all here, in Madrid, with us.
From the 29th to the 31st of july we want to share all of these with you. We have worked hard to get the best enviroment and we want you to be a part of it. . Come to the Madrid Tennis Open 2011. Play with us. (read more)

Welcome to Madrid and to the website of Madrid Tennis Open 2010

As you can see we have worked hard both to update the web page of the tournament and to create a new tool where you will find all the useful information, such as draws, matches, schedules, maps and even the weather forecast.But there is more than that. Thanks to the support of Internetria, a professional team among the Spanish and European elite in the creation of web pages and social networks, we have made a real quality leap at launching a web page that is among the best web pages in our tennis circuit, including contents updated daily, interviews, nutrition and physiotherapy advice and a strong commitment to social networks. The indisputable actors of the tournament and of this web page are the tennis and each and everyone of the 150 participants this year. (read more)

The Advisers' Top Ten Recommendations for Enjoying Madrid

When we have been to a tournament outside our town, we have always wondered the same thing: In what bar is it best to have the first drink? Where can I continue the party? And if Saturday I do not have to play a match, what museum or art exhibition can I visit? No doubt so much activity can mean that Sunday we are late risers, which is the perfect ocasion for a good brunch or for a post-tournament cocktail. And clearly the best people to answer these questions are the people of the town hosting the tournament. This is why we have gathered a real top-ten of Madpoint guys (and some husbands too, but we will keep that secret) to hear their ten not-to-miss suggestions for enjoying Madrid, day and night. Enjoy! (read more)

Five better places in Madrid

Miguel Martorell is one of those History teachers you would describe as being “artistic”.

For this reason we have asked him to tell us five places in Madrid that a visitor with a minimum interest in culture/life cannot miss.

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Interview with Omar Hossain, founder of Madrid Tennis Open

What happens with the MTO is the precise opposite of what happens with children. If with children it's always clear who's the mother, and knowing the father (absent a DNA test) depends on good faith and general good will, with the Madrid Tournament, the paternity leaves no doubt: Omar Hossain.

Right until the 2009 edition, he was the director of the Tournament and one of the people thanks to whom our tournament has become a consolidated one.

(read more)

Interview with Mariate Escalada, former copresident of Madpoint

In a club anemic of girls, she has long been the feminine blood of MTO and Madpoint. A hard worker and enormous fighter, her encouragement has been crucial in launching women’s draws, still budding in Madrid.

In this 2010 edition, and for the first time in many years, she will not take part in the tournament, but her hard work to date makes her one of the most authorized voices to talk about MTO.

(read more)

Interview with Jesús Galán, president of Madpoint

My watch hands say it is ten past ten when i finally reach my friend and president of Madpoint Jesús Galán. I have been trying to reach him since nine thirty, and when he finally answers the phone he happens to be in the house of his friend Auxiliadora Fuentecilla, a neighbour in the area of Pan Bendito, a humble neighbourhood in the Southern part of Madrid.

“I have dropped in to see my friend, she is feeling really blue”, he says. Her boyfriend has just dumped her. He is a professional expert in carpet mite cleaning and lives in Parla, even further south than her exgirlfriend, and close to the industrial area where he works. “He has taken the decision precisely now, right when I have obtained my B24 driving license to visit him there”, whines Auxiliadora. To make matters worse, the girl had had to close the premises where she used to sell esparto grass sandals, “all because of the damned crisis and for the unfair competition of synthetic materials”.

(read more)

Groups of the Madrid Tennis Open 2010

In the Open category, men and women will fight it out to be the best. The singles men category is composed of six players. After a Round Robin confrontation, the player with the highest number of wins will be the winner. Who will be able to dethrone José Bosch, the man who sweeps everyone before him in regional and international leagues?

The goal is clear: all against him! A fight only using rackets, passing shots, volleys and serves that you cannot miss… under the sun.

The doubles category will witness the gathering of many friends and players who know each other well… We will see several Spanish players and three players from other countries: Olivier and Johan repeat the experience (as usual) and Lee plays with our Javi.

(read more)

Eat and drink properly during a tournament

- How important is it to eat and drink properly during a tournament? If I eat and drink just enough to cover my needs, will that be sufficient for me to have a good sport performance?
When we play sports we need extra nutrients and fluids to provide our organism with the required energy. Not eating and drinking properly can not only take its tall on our level of game, but also we can risk having an injury, fainting or, in the most severe cases, even death. During a tennis tournament, you have to play many hours with barely any time to recover between games, and thus it is vital to care for our diet.

(read more)

- This year the tournament is full of new features. Which are the most important ones? What can we expect from the tournament?
Above all the change of the venue, which is a result of a personal determination. After years using the tennis courts in the idyllic venue of the Casa de Campo, we felt the need for a quality leap to tennis courts in perfect conditions, and the new venue has been repaired for us. Likewise, there has been a change in the organising committee, although Luis and I we were already part of the former team, which we will always be thankful to for having paved the way so as to continue ahead without problems. This year we will have a free bus for the tournament, catering close to the tennis courts, a swimming pool, professional advising on nutrition during the tournament and also advising on stretching.

(read more)

Madrid Tennis Open 2009 chronicle

2009 was being one of the rainiest years in decades… right up to the beginning of the Madrid Tennis Open . Suddenly, all taps got turned off and the water deluge gave way to a roaring cloak of fire. A rock-cracking heat welcomed the stifled participants from all around the world who in the end would obliviously say goodbye to the Casa de Campo and its tennis courts as the venue for the tournamente with a “They are far too fast!” as the most usual complaint. Time shows no mercy, and actually the change was becoming more and more necessary.

But this was not only the last tournament for these facilities. The team who strived to raise it, Juanda, Omar and Gonzalo, would say goodbye to tournament organisation. Throughout the years, people such as Roberto Cánovas, Chema Burgos, Axier Uzkudun or Mariate Escalada had stepped up after considering that they had spent enough hours on the phone, in front of the computer or going from meeting to meeting. It is for them to enjoy now, and for the rest of us to thank them all for their effort in bringing up a toddler that has now become a strapping your man.

(read more)