This week, there are three overlapping, competing ATP tennis tournaments. The US Men’s Clay Court Championship is in Houston, Texas. The Millennium Estoril Open is in Estoril, Portugal. And, in Africa’s only ATP tournament this year, the Grand Prix Hassan II is in Marrakech, Morocco. Each tournament is played on clay and is an ATP 250 event, with the winner receiving 250 points.
This got me wondering how players determine their calendars and how they decide which event to attend, if any. I have been studying the three tournaments and their players. The first observation is that most of the world’s top players have chosen not to play in any of these events.
In fact, across all three tournaments, there are only four players ranked in the top 20 playing. Casper Ruud of Norway and Hubert Hurkacs of Poland are both playing in the Millennium Estoril Open. Frances Tiafoe and Tommy Paul, both from the United States, are playing the US Men’s Clay Court Championship.
The rest of the top 20 are resting their bodies and choosing to prepare privately for the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters beginning on April 9th. For instance, Taylor Fritz has chosen to prepare at a premier clay court in South Florida before traveling to Monte Carlo later this week.
The Monte-Carlo Masters, along with three other Masters 1000 tournaments and the French Open, which will all be played on clay in the next 2 months. The friction created on clay courts which leads to the ball bouncing higher also creates a different impact on the players’ bodies as compared to hard courts. Because of this, the top players often take the time to prepare for the clay court season.
I spoke with 2 former professional players who explained that there are multiple considerations that will influence a player’s decision on where to play, such as travel schedule, court surface, appearance fees, sponsor obligations and personal obligations.
In this instance, scheduling requirements must have been an important consideration as every top player who is not injured is playing at the upcoming Rolex Monte Carlo Masters, which is an ATP Masters 1000 event. Top players also often get guaranteed appearance fees to entice them to attend. It is rumored that appearance fees can often be far more than the tournament prize money.
As an aside, while the Monte-Carlo Masters is the only Masters 1000 tournament of the year that all top 30 players are not obligated to attend (see ATP Rule 1.07D on page 10 for more on this), all players typically choose to attend as 1,000 ATP points are awarded to the winner. Therefore, the players must be in Europe no later than April 9-11, depending on the day of their first round match.
While it may seem easier to play in either the Portugal or Morocco events, as both tournaments are only a short flight away from Monte-Carlo, Tiafoe and Paul, who grew up playing on clay courts in North Carolina and was the 2015 French Open Junior Champion, are both choosing to play in their home country, the United States.
The clay used at the US Clay Championships and at other courts in the U.S. is different from the red clay used in Europe, so it is likely the Americans are more used to and prefer the darker, faster clay used in Houston.
Assuming they meet in the finals, which will be played on Sunday, 2:00pm Central Time, they will need to immediately travel to Monte-Carlo to arrive on April 10th. Presumably, the officials in Monte-Carlo will accommodate them and schedule their first round matches on April 11th.
Another factor which may have influenced their decision to play in the United States is the higher probability to win a coveted ATP tournament. As Tiafoe and Paul are the top two seeds, respectively, they both have a good chance to emerge victorious.
This same consideration likely influenced Ruud and Hurkacz to play in Portugal, as they too are both the top seeds, respectively.
Following this logic, it is curious why no top 20-ranked player has chosen to travel to Marrakech, Morocco, where they would be the top seed and favorite to win. Instead, the top seed is Lorenzo Musetti of Italy who is ranked number 21 in the world.
