Madrid Open: Are Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz and Emma Raducanu playing? When's the draw?

Updated 24/04/2024 at 08:40 GMT

When is the Madrid Open? Who is playing the Madrid Open? When is the draw? Are Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Carlos Alcaraz, Emma Raducanu and Simona Halep playing? The combined ATP and WTA tournament will see most of the top stars from both tours in action. Alcaraz is defending men's champion while Aryna Sabalenka beat Iga Swiatek in last year's women's final to claim the title.

‘For the sake of all tennis’ - Djokovic wants Nadal to ‘play at least one more tournament’

The Madrid Open will feature the top stars from the ATP and WTA tours.

Carlos Alcaraz has won the men's title the last two successive years and is bidding to become the first player to win three in a row.

The women's trophy was won by Aryna Sabalenka as she beat Iga Swiatek in the final.

ATP Rome

Are Nadal, Alcaraz, Djokovic playing Italian Open? When does it start?

14 hours ago

Who's playing the Madrid Open this season? Are Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Alcaraz, Swiatek and Sabalenka playing? When is the draw?

When is the Madrid Open?

The WTA main draw at the Madrid Open starts on Tuesday, April 23 and the ATP main draw starts on Wednesday, April 24.

Play starts at 10am UK time every day until midway through the second week. From May 1 to May 3, play begins at midday UK time, and on finals weekend play starts at 2.30pm.

There are also night sessions running from April 26 to May 3 which start at 7pm.

The women's final will be held on Saturday, May 4 and the men's final will be on Sunday, May 5.

When is the Madrid Open draw?

The women's singles draw was held on Sunday, April 21 and the men's draw will be on Monday, April 22.

Who is playing the Madrid Open?

The Madrid Open was set to be the first clay event that both Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal have played since the 2022 French Open - until Djokovic pulled out.

Djokovic has not given a reason for his withdrawal, but his absence means world No. 2 Jannik Sinner will be the top seed.

Nadal will be unseeded as he continues his comeback using a protected ranking.

He recently made his return at the Barcelona Open, playing his first event in three months, and said after losing in the second round that he is hoping to continue to build up to the French Open.

Carlos Alcaraz is in the draw as he looks to overcome an arm injury and win his third Madrid Open in a row.

The world No. 3 hasn't played since losing in the Miami Open quarter-finals due to injury, missing both Monte Carlo and Barcelona.

He has a first-round bye as the second seed and will open against either Alexander Shevchenko or Arthur Rinderknech.

World No. 4 Daniil Medvedev will play for the first time since Monte Carlo, while Andy Murray misses out as he continues to recover from an ankle injury.

Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka will headline the women's draw.

The pair contested the final in Madrid last year and as the top two seeds could meet again with the trophy on the line.

Aryna Sabalenka won Madrid in 2023

Image credit: Getty Images

Coco Gauff and Elena Rybakina will be among those looking to challenge for the title, while former runner-up Caroline Wozniacki has got a wildcard.

Two-time champion Simona Halep also got a wildcard as she continues her return from a doping ban, but has pulled out from the tournament.

"Unfortunately my body needs a little more time to be ready and I have made the tough decision not to play in Madrid," she said.

"Tough because I want to be back on tour asap, but experience tells me not to rush. Thank you to the Madrid Open who offered me the wild card and to my fans."

Naomi Osaka is in the draw along with Emma Raducanu.

Raducanu has enjoyed an encouraging start to her clay season with two wins at the Billie Jean King Cup qualifers and two in Stuttgart, where she lost to world No. 1 Swiatek in the quarter-finals.

Raducanu was due to open against Karolina Pliskova in the first round but the former world No. 1 withdrew from the tournament.

Raducanu will now face qualifier Maria Lourdes Carle, who is ranked at No. 82 in the world, with the winner playing 17th seed Veronika Kudermetova.

Djokovic set for Rome return

This is only the third time since 2015 that Djokovic has not won a title by this stage of the season.

The other two times were in 2022, when he was unable to play in Australia or the United States due to being unvaccinated for Covid-19, and 2018, when he had elbow surgery early in the year.

This season he had only played three tournaments before Monte Carlo, losing to Alex de Minaur at the United Cup, Jannik Sinner in the Australian Open semis, and then the upset in the third round at Indian Wells against lucky loser Luca Nardi.

It looks like he is next going to play the Italian Open, which starts on May 8, as he builds up for the French Open, Wimbledon and Olympics.

"I want to reach my peak for Paris - that's where I want to play my best tennis," said Djokovic in Monte Carlo.

"Anything else is a bonus, so let's see what happens."

- - -

Stream top tennis action, including the 2024 French Open, live on discovery+

WTA Madrid