The Madrid Open will have to discontinue with staging the event with blue claycourts. On an article posted at the ATP’s official website, organization President Brad Drewett said that having blue claycourts starting in 2013 season will no longer be allowed.
Drewett explained that even though the new color “may have offered better visibility” on TV, there were issues raised especially on the quality of the claycourts at the recently concluded Madrid Masters tournament which “were not acceptable.”
The Madrid tournament organizers got the go signal from ATP to give blue claycourts a test run in 2012 season. However, the move have irked several players, including top-ranked Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal. Both players have stated that they won’t participate next year if no changes will be made on the courts. Both players lost in the earlier rounds. The Madrid Masters 2012 tournament was won by Roger Federer and the women’s champion was Serena Williams.
