28th April 2025
The 2025 Madrid Open began this week and hasn’t concluded yet because it’s a two-week event. We do know who has moved on to the later stages of the event, with a few surprising twists along the way. Keep reading to find out all the latest developments that unfolded in Madrid, both on and off the court.
2025 Madrid Open overview
We’ve seen a little under a week’s action so far in Madrid, with plenty of story lines unfolding already.
On the men’s side, Carlos Alcaraz withdrew from the event due to the injury sustained in Barcelona. Holger Rune also retired midway through his opener with knee issues.
Novak Djokovic was beaten in his first match at the event, continuing a pretty apparent crisis that’s been going on for a while, we’re stil not sure where the current level of Djokovic is. Alexander Zverev has looked decent, managing to secure a quarter-final.
Daniil Medvedev is another player who has played consistently on the men’s side. The rest of the field has been shaky, to say the least.
On the women’s side, the seeds have generally done better. Aryna Sabalenka has looked great. Iga Swiatek has been winning without too many problems. Coco Gauff managed to avoid an early exit in the event, which is positive.
Mira Andreeva still looks impressive, so overall, it’s shaping up to be a really great conclusion to the women’s side of the event.
Alcaraz is in trouble
Alcaraz’s injury in Barcelona wasn’t a benign one, as evidenced by how that final went and how much he struggled to move. The Spaniard withdrew from Madrid due to it, proving that it’s not a minor issue he could simply shake off.
It doesn’t mean that he will miss significant time, but don’t be surprised if he skips the Italian Open as well, opting for a slower recovery in light of the French Open beginning very soon. Risking aggravation of an injury that has already caused him to miss an event wouldn’t be the wisest decision – especially not for a Masters event.
Holger Rune and knee problems
Rune found a massive breakthrough in Barcelona by finally winning a big event again. The Danish player wasn’t able to build upon that momentum, though, as he retired in Madrid with a knee issue.
It also shouldn’t be a massive problem, but it’s troublesome because you don’t want to start having problems with your knee – not when you’re Rune’s age. In any case, it’s probably just fatigue, but it’s something to keep an eye on.
Djokovic no more
Novak Djokovic hasn’t looked like Novak Djokovic for a while, and it’s not getting better. The Miami Open was a decent run, but it seemed like a fluke because he hasn’t looked good on clay so far. The movement has been very “old man and the sea”-like, so maybe it’s time for Djokovic to hang it up and go fishing in Cuba, as Hemingway once did.
He shrugged it off after the match, but the footage from his practice session, where he was cursing everyone and everything, proves that he’s feeling the heat. This is not what he had in mind when he promised to break more records after winning the Olympics last year.
Andy Murray rubbing off on Novak Djokovic during his practice session in Madrid:
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) April 24, 2025
"F*** this sport, f*** tennis, f*** everything" ????
pic.twitter.com/BN9pJJ9Qz4
Hawk-Eye problems
There has been lots of drama this year at the Madrid Open, with the players not quite happy about the Hawk-Eye system on clay, believing that it’s not as accurate as you’d want it to be. The system never claimed to be perfect, but plenty of players have been expressing their displeasure.
Zverev got a code violation for taking a picture of a mark, which was out but called in. Others have voiced their opinions as well, but that’s how the system works. It doesn’t actually follow the ball but predicts where it will fall, which can sometimes be wrong and likely is often enough.
Coming up this week
As for what’s coming up next week, we’re still in Madrid as the event progresses towards a conclusion. Both the men’s and women’s events will wrap up in the upcoming week, and then tennis moves to Rome, which should be a truly fascinating event.
Not only is Jannik Sinner returning to the tour—a massive deal—but Djokovic has historically been very strong in Rome, so perhaps it will be a final chance for him to claim glory again. Alcaraz might or might not play, and then there’s the general tennis drama that tends to follow along.
The tour is slowly but surely moving towards the second Grand Slam of the season, which will be a massive occasion considering how exciting the Australian Open was. Plenty is at stake as the best players try to figure out who the king of clay is.
