For over 100 years, the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters has been one of the most prestigious and renowned events in the world of international tennis. Since 2000, the Monte Carlo Tournament has been part of the elite ATP Championship: Masters Series. The best players on the planet will meet on the courts of the Monte-Carlo Country Club. The winners of this competition were such talented players as Gustavo Kuerten, Cedric Piolin, Andrey Chesnokov, Juan Carlos Ferrero, Guillermo Coria, Ivan Lendl, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, who won the tournament 8 times in a row from 2005 to 2012 and set an unsurpassed record in the world of tennis!
However, this event was not always so popular. It was first held back in 1896 from April 23 to 29. The winner of the first competition was the Englishman George Whiteside Hilyard, who beat the German Count Victor Eugene Voss-Schonot. The following year, the British continued to lead when Briton Reginald Doherty defeated his compatriot Conway W. Blackwood Price.
So, from year to year, more and more new participants arrived here, wanting to show their skills, and over time, the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters became what it is now. Initially, the competition was held in singles, but only in 1969 did professional players begin to participate in the competition. Thus, the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters is the oldest tournament in all of Europe. Today it includes twenty-four teams and fifty-six tennis players competing in singles.
In fact, the tournament is not taking place in Monaco, but in the small French town of Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, which borders the principality, and in fact the organizers, Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters, lease land from the French Republic for the courts, as well as administratively — sports facilities necessary for the games.
The main tennis club in Monaco is the Monte-Carlo Country Club, which was born thanks to the American philanthropist George Butler, a great lover and patron of tennis, and in particular, the famous French tennis player Suzanne Lenglen, who became the first multiple winner and female tennis champion during the period from 1914 to 1926, when she won 31 championship titles.
Each year, the final prize is awarded to the winner by one of the members of the princely family. There have always been warm and friendly relations between the Monte-Carlo Country Club and the ruling family. Prince Rainier III, a great tennis fan, and his wife Grace Kelly supported the development of the club. And Prince Melanie’s cousin, Antoinette, headed the club for many years, until she was replaced in this post by her daughter Elizabeth-Anna Massy. Today, Prince Albert II remains a fan of the tournament and is always present as a spectator at competitions whenever possible.
To this day, the Rolex Masters tournament takes place on the clay courts of the Monte-Carlo Country Club, attracting an audience of thousands not only in the stands, which are designed for 9,000 spectators, but also on TV screens, as the competition is broadcast in 66 countries around the world.
The main sponsor and partner of Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters has been the famous Swiss watch brand Rolex for several years now. And the prize fund of the tournament grows every year.
European athletes are increasingly becoming winners, but in 1990, Andrei Chesnokov won in Monaco, who is currently the only Russian winner of this prestigious competition.
This year, the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters tennis tournament will take place from April 6 to 14, and for the 117th time, Monte-Carlo Country Club will invite world-class tennis stars to its courts and terraces with colorful views of the Mediterranean.
