Just as the Grand Prix is a superhuman event to stage we also watched the Monte Carlo Country Club go through months of preparation in 2020 to host the Monte Carlo Rolex Masters tennis tournament. It then came as a shock that Monaco’s second most prestigious event was cancelled as the Covid-19 epidemic took hold. One had hoped at least that the tournament could have been filmed, even if for health-safety reasons spectators could not be allowed to crowd the stands.
But as the eye of the storm of the pandemic started to dominate the world, the safety of the players and the difficulty of flying players into and around Europe made holding the tournament in 2020 impossible. Not long after the Monaco Grand Prix also fell victim. And so 2020 became the historic year of nightmare cancellations of the world’s greatest events.
The 2021 Recovery
In 2021 the recovery begins, thank goodness. For the moment it is a staged recovery. The Monte-Carlo Masters 1000 tournament, due to take place from April 10 to 18, will still not be open to the public.
As the Monte-Carlo Country Club technically sits on French territory in Roquebrune, the venue is also bound by French rules.
The organisers confirmed on Friday, February 12 that decisions have been taken “in accordance with the latest government provisions to extend the state of (the coronavirus) health emergency and the rules that apply to major events until May 3, 2021.”
The Monte Carlo Rolex Masters
The Monte-Carlo Masters event is the prestigious event that is the season starter for men’s clay-court tennis tournaments and traditionally hosts the majority of the world’s top tennis professionals as they also test their preparation for the Grand Slam at Roland Garros. It is no surprise that Rafael Nadal, perhaps the greatest clay court tennis player of all-time, is a serial winner, setting world records at both Monte Carlo and Roland Garros.
In spite of Nadal’s dominance of Clay Court events Novak Djokovic has also managed to win “Victor’s Laurels” at Monte Carlo. Roger Federer has also made a valiant attempt to join the winner’s circle, almost succeeding, but could not yet make it through the “eye of the needle.”
The Monte Carlo Rolex Masters is taking place behind closed doors in 2021 but the good news is that it has just been confirmed that it will indeed be taking place.
And so in 2021, Monaco’s two greatest global events, the Monaco Grand Prix and the Monte Carlo Master’s Tennis are both on the calendar.
