Overview
- Organisers confirmed a one‑week practice window inside Real Madrid’s Bernabéu, with sessions closed to fans and all official matches staying at the Caja Mágica.
- The extra site relieves a crunch in training slots created when the singles draws expanded to 96 players across the ATP and WTA events.
- The stadium’s retractable pitch, which splits into six slabs and stores in an underground greenhouse, lets crews remove the grass and lay a clay court on the concrete deck.
- Real Madrid’s schedule leaves the venue free in late April, and a potential European fixture in that span would start away, which keeps the conversion on track.
- The move fits the club’s multiuse strategy for the renovated arena, which has hosted major concerts and is set to stage an NFL game later this year.