The Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell accelerates its transformation to be among the best tournaments on the ATP circuit

The Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell and the RCTB-1899 presented this Friday some details of their transformation plan for the period 2026-2028, with the aim of stopping focusing on being “the best ATP 500” and trying to consolidate themselves as “one of the best tournaments of the year” on the world circuit, with several new features focused on giving more offers to the fan and continuing to improve the facilities and service to the player.

As explained by the first vice president of the club and CEO of the Conde de Godó Trofeu, Xavier Pujol, and the co-founder and CEO of Tennium – the tournament’s organizing company -, Kristoff Puelinckx, in an informative breakfast with the media in which Europa Press was present, the idea is to “look up”, towards the ATP Masters 1,000 and Grand Slams tournaments, to put the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell among the best tournaments of the year.

The popularly known as the Conde de Godó Trophy, which has grown 2.3% in profits in the last five years and foresees an increase of 5.7% in the coming years, aspires to operate with standards typical of the highest category events.

Kristoff Puelinckx, CEO of Tennium, stressed that the Barcelona Open “has to be so good that no one thinks it can be left out of the Premium circuit”, since the managers of the Barcelona tournament do not rule out that the ATP ends up having different categories in the future, with the ‘Grand Slam’ and the best ATP 1,000 in an elite circuit in which, without ceasing to be an ATP 500, Barcelona wants to be.

Along these lines, he pointed out that the ambition goes beyond facing the ‘prize money’ that players may receive – which currently represents between 25% and 30% of income, a figure that they consider excessively high – but that their plan includes profound improvements in Hospitality, player experience and added services. “We will not have the size of a Grand Slam, but we do want to have its quality in care and attention to the player,” he stated.

The BOBS transformation process is divided into three phases until 2028. Phase 1 (2026) will be the expansion of the tournament into a two-week event, with a prior Fan Week full of activities for the general public, partners, sponsors and tennis fans. Next year the offer in the Fan Zone and Hospitality will also be expanded and the spaces in the venue will be redistributed to optimize capacities.

Among the planned initiatives are the introduction of an Opening Night with a charity match for the RCTB Foundation, the first night session in the history of the tournament – on Thursday, with a star match and party in the Fan Zone -, the launch of a new Fan Corner with a Beer Garden or Cocktail Bar, the redesign of Court 1 with a members’ stand and the celebration of a Next Gen Day – for young tennis players – and a Pre-Qualifier tournament whose winner will obtain a ‘wildcard’ for the previous phase of the tournament.

Phase 2 (2027) will involve the possible outsourcing of part of the tournament to gain operational space. Among the measures contemplated are taking some doubles matches outside the club – thus freeing up a competition court -, enabling more external training courts and creating an Extra Lounge for players and companions outside the venue, foreseeably in the Torre Melina Gran Meliá hotel, given the growing size of the teams that travel with each player. That year the second phase of expansion of the Fan Zone and Hospitality will be completed.

Finally, Phase 3 (2028) will be aimed at consolidating all the changes and positioning the Barcelona Open as one of the “premium” tournaments on the Tour. This cycle will include the integration of growth and expansion improvements, as well as the consolidation of the financial result of the tournament, with a distribution of benefits aligned with the objectives of the ATP and the long-term sustainability of the event.

The tournament, which currently has 40 sponsors and maintains strategic objectives for 2030 in terms of aligning and having weight in governance in ATP, ITF and Grand Slams, is not measured with other ATP 500 on its calendar, such as Munich, but with reference tournaments such as Monte Carlo (Masters 1000). According to Puelinckx, the idea is to “be at the forefront of the sport, be an innovative leader on the circuit and offer a quality of experience comparable to the best events of the year.”