Madrid 411: Dates, top players, withdrawals, prize money and more
The heart of the Clay-Court swing is upon is.
Following three weeks of WTA 500 and WTA 250 events, first in North and South America and then across the ocean in Europe, the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz kicks off a month-long stretch of back-to-back WTA 1000 tournaments featuring the world's best players, in two of the best cities on Earth.
First up is the Mutua Madrid Open, played on the red-clay courts of Caja Mágica.
One of the most prestigious stops on tour since its debut in 2009 -- it was an ATP-only event from 2002-08 -- the Mutua Madrid Open carries significant rankings implications, and is a strong indicator of who's in form ahead of the French Open.
Here's everything you need to know about the upcoming Mutua Madrid Open, from important dates and notable players to defending champions and prize money.
When does the tournament start, and when will each round be played?
Qualifying action will start on Monday, April 20, and first-round play will start the following day. The doubles draw will get underway on Thursday, April 23.
The tournament will run through Sunday, May 3. The singles final will be played the day prior, on May 2 (not before 5 p.m. local time), and the doubles final will be on May 3 at 2 p.m. local time.
Below are the daily schedules for singles and doubles play.
Singles schedule
Qualifying: April 20 and April 21
First round: April 21 and April 22
Second round: April 23 and April 24
Third round: April 25 and April 26
Fourth round: April 27
Quarterfinals: April 28 and April 29
Semifinals: April 30
Final: May 2
Doubles schedule
First round: April 23, April 24 and April 25
Second round: April 26 and April 27
Quarterfinals: April 28 and April 29
Semifinals: May 1
Final: May 3
How big is the draw, and who are the top players in the field?
Unlike the WTA 500 tournaments in Linz and Stuttgart, which featured 28-player draws, the Mutua Madrid Open has a 96-player singles draw. That includes 76 direct entries, 12 qualifiers and eight wild cards (still to be announced). The 32 seeded players will receive byes into the second round.
World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka will be making her 2026 clay-court debut after pulling out of Stuttgart, and she'll be joined by the rest of the Top 10 in the PIF WTA Rankings. That includes Elena Rybakina, Coco Gauff, Iga Swiatek -- playing her first WTA 1000 tournament since hiring new coach Francisco Roig -- Charleston champion Jessica Pegula, Amanda Anisimova, Elina Svitolina, Jasmine Paolini, Linz champion Mirra Andreeva and Victoria Mboko.
Other notable players in the field include Belinda Bencic, Naomi Osaka, Iva Jovic, Madison Keys, Emma Raducanu, Qinwen Zheng and Alexandra Eala.
The last three direct entrants in the field are Elena-Gabriela Ruse, Anastasia Zakharova and Yulia Putintseva.
To see the full player list, click here.
The draw will be revealed on Sunday, April 19 at 6 p.m. local time.
Withdrawals: Maya Joint, Sonay Kartal, Varvara Gracheva
Main-draw additions: Petra Marcinko, Eva Lys, Moyuka Uchijima
Who are the defending champions?
Madrid is a fitting place for Sabalenka to start her clay campaign. The 27-year-old is the defending champion, and very likely the best player in the history of the tournament. She's a three-time champion here -- only Petra Kvitova has won as many titles -- and dating back to 2021, when she won her first Madrid Open, Sabalenka has won 23 of her last 25 matches at Caja Mágica.
She dropped just one set last year, to Elise Mertens in the third round, and beat Marta Kostyuk and Svitolina before taking out Gauff 6-3, 7-6 (3) in the final.
The only other former champion in this year's draw is Swiatek, who defeated Sabalenka to win the title in 2024.
Pegula made the final in 2022, losing to Ons Jabeur.
The reigning doubles champions in Madrid are Sorana Cirstea and Anna Kalinskaya. They defeated Veronika Kudermetova and Mertens 6-7 (10), 6-2, [12-10] in an epic final.
Neither Cirstea nor Kalinskaya are in this year's doubles draw. Kudermetova isn't in the field, either. Mertens, currently No. 1 in the world, will be playing with Shuai Zhang.
What are the rankings points and prize money at stake?
There is €8,235,540 (approximately $9.7 million) up for grabs in the singles draw, as well as 1,000 rankings points for the winner.
Here is the full prize money and rankings points breakdown for the singles competitors.
Champion: €1,007,165 (~ $1,188,102) | 1,000 rankings points
Finalist: €535,585 (~ $631,802) | 650 rankings points
Semifinalists: €297,550 (~ $351,004) | 390 rankings points
Quarterfinalists: €169,375 (~ $199,803) | 215 rankings points
Round of 16: €92,470 (~ $109,082) | 120 rankings points
Round of 32: €54,110 (~ $63,830) | 65 rankings points
Round of 64: €31,585 (~ $37,259) | 35 rankings points
Round of 96: €21,285 (~ $25,108) | 10 rankings points
The doubles champions will take home €409,520 (approximately $483,090) and 1,000 rankings points.