The Italian Open is an annual tennis tournament that takes place in Rome, Italy every year and is one of the most prestigious red clay tennis tournaments in the world after the French Open. The men's competition is classified as an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event on the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) tour, and the women's competition being a Premier 5 event on the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) tour.
Italian Open History
The tournament was founded in 1930 in Milan at the Tennis Club and was initiated by the Count Alberto Bonacossa. In the inaugural season, Bill Tilden (USA) and Lili de Alvarez (Spain) won in the singles categories of the man's and women's divisions respectively. On the other hand, it was the American pair of Wilbur Coen and Bill Tilden that won the men's doubles title while Margaret Smith Court (Australia) and Virginia Wade (Great Britain) won the women's doubles finals, the category which was introduced in 1968.
Italian Open Prize Money
A total prize money of €4,872,105 has been announced that will be distributed among the different players according to their finishing position at the end of the tournament under the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 category. On the other hand, a whopping amount of US$3,351,720 will be given to the players in the Premier 5 category under the WTA Tour.
Italian Open Venue
All the matches of the Italian Open 2019 will take place at the clay (outdoor) courts of the Foro Italico which is situated at Rome, Italy just like every year.
Players to Watch Out for
Some of the top ranked players that will be participating in this tournament are also expected to grab all the eyeballs which includes the Iikes of Kevin Anderson (South Africa), Rohan Bopanna (India), Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan (USA), Novak Djokovic (Serbia), Andy Murray (England), Rafael Nadal (Spain), Nami Osaka (Japan), Serena Williams and Venus Williams (USA) etc.
