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Tennis in Catalonia
Tennis started to be played in Spain at the end of the 19th century by British immigrants, who had settled in Catalonia. The sport was played in the larger cities of Catalonia, like Barcelona and Reus. Tennis was also a typical sport played by the Catalan bourgeoisie.
The Lawn Tennis Association of Barcelona was founded in 1904, which was based in Barcelona. The association quickly joined forces with the Lawn Tennis Association, which was the international governing body of the sport in that era. Years later, the name was changed into the Lawn Tennis Association of Catalonia in 1913. It would still take until 1917, before the very first Catalonian Tennis Championships were held. In this tournament and all the others that followed the Lawn Tennis Association of Barcelona remained a key factor in organizing the tennis events. The first international World Championship was organized in 1923 and was held in Barcelona.
Many players from Catalonia have won various tournaments, like Sergi Bruguera, who won the Roland Garros competition in 1993 and again in 1994, Arantxa Sánchez Vicario, who won the US open tournament of 1994 and took the masters cup. At an Olympic level, Catalonian players are also well represented, with medal winners like: Jordi Arrese, winner of the silver medal in 1992, and many others. However, nobody from Catalonia has ever won the gold medal for tennis at the Olympics.
The main tennis event in Spain is called Torneo Godó, which is organized in Barcelona, Catalonia, and is played on a surface that is created from clay. The Torneo Godó tournament, often referred to as Trofeo Conde de Godó, and since 2008 was officially changed into Open Banco Sabadell, is an annual tennis event for male professionals. It is played in Barcelona every year and was held for the very first time in 1953. It is played on tennis courts made from clay. The event makes up for an important part of the 500 series on the Association of Tennis Professionals. Besides the Madrid Masters tournament, it is the most important tennis event in Spain, and is usually held at the end of April, when Catalonian temperatures are at about 18 degrees Celsius during the daytime.
The Mutua Madrileña Madrid is a mixed tennis event in Spain, where both male and female professionals can participate. As the name states the event is organized in Madrid and ranks as a 1000 tournament on the Association of Tennis Professionals World tour. The event is mandatory for female tennis players. The event started out in Germany in the city of Essen, but moved to Stockholm in Sweden in 1990, where it was held for 4 years. After this the event moved back to Germany to the city of Stuttgart, but moved for the last time to Madrid, Spain, where it has been organized since 2003 in the Arena of Madrid. The event started off as an indoor tennis tournament, but over the years moved to open clay courts and its location changed to the Park Manzanares. After this change, the event was extended in order to allow WTA professionals to enter into the tournament.
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