Madrid Open Director Downplays Carlos Alcaraz’s Effect on Fans’ Turnout

Madrid Open Director Feliciano Lopez has admitted that Carlos Alcaraz’s withdrawal hasn’t affected fans’ turnout. Alcaraz, who was supposed to be the home favorite at the tournament and also a former champion, pulled out of the ATP Masters 1000 event due to a wrist injury he suffered in Barcelona.

Last year, the Rotterdam Open director Richard Krajicek revealed that the ticket sales soared just hours after announcing Alcaraz was going to compete at the tournament. In fact, Krajicek added that he had not seen such a big effect on fans’ turnout for the event, even though Jannik Sinner had played in 2023 and 2024.

Alcaraz is known for his superstar impression on fan turnout in events. Of course, the news that the Spaniard pulled out of the Madrid Open for the second year running was a definite blow to the tournament. Their number one talent and only Grand Slam winner, again missing his home event, was not just a huge disappointment for him but also for the fans.

Spanish fans are known to be proud supporters of their players, who were expected to fill the Caja Magica stands, should Alcaraz have played. But the tournament quickly switched to other Spanish players such as Rafael Jodar, Daniel Merida, and Martin Landaluce to boost the morale of fans.

Jodar’s publicity paid off unusually as he reached the quarter-finals of the Madrid Open for the first time in his career. During an interview with Mark Petchey and Andrea Petkovic on the Big T podcast, Lopez revealed that the tournament doesn’t rely on Alcaraz to enhance fan turnout. He added that Sinner and Jodar’s performance helped to draw fans to the event in the Spanish capital:

So far, we’ve had a great tournament. Honestly, the number of people coming is only getting higher every year. We have Jannik Sinner back after two years—he was injured before and couldn’t play last year—so we’re very happy to have him. And Rafael Jodar—what about this name? Unbelievable. Luckily, this tournament doesn’t depend on one player. Next year is our 25th anniversary, and tickets are sold far in advance—many were already sold for next year.

Jodar defeated Joao Fonseca in the third round of the Madrid Open; before that, he produced an excellent display to stun Alex de Minaur in straight sets. The Spanish star went on to beat Vit Kopriva in the fourth round. He faced Sinner on Wednesday (April 29) for a place in the semi-finals and fell to the Italian star in 2-6, 6(0)-7.

Former ATP player blasts tennis stars for complaining about two-week Masters and WTA 1000 events

Since 2025, one of the biggest debates on tour has been the conversion of two-week events for the Masters and WTA 1000 events. This season, all the ATP 1000 events have been played for two weeks apart from the Monte Carlo Masters, which is not a mandatory tournament. The Indian Wells and Miami Open have extended their event to two weeks, and other tournaments have followed.

The Madrid Open is now a two-week event, and the next tournament – the Italian Open – also shares the same format. Players have been complaining about the length of tournaments, including Carlos Alcaraz and Iga Swiatek. During the aforementioned interview, Feliciano Lopez noted that the players voted for more money and an extended event on tour:

I find it interesting that some players don’t like something they voted for. They wanted longer events—more money and more rest between matches. From a big-picture perspective, it’s better: more revenue and more recovery time. I think so. It’s easy to say now, but players wanted it. Prize money is increasing, and they voted for that. I understand their concerns, but overall I think it’s positive.

Some analyses and reports suggest that the extension of tournaments has led to more injuries on tour. For the past two seasons, there have been more frequent injuries, even among top players who have the privilege to choose which event to play in.

Also Read: Jannik Sinner Drops a Three-Word Tribute to Rafael Jodar After their Madrid Open Clash