The Endeavor-owned company “IMG” has entered into a definitive agreement with the Super Slam Ltd, as it looks forward to acquiring the Mutua Madrid Open tennis tournament and the Acciona Open de Espana golf tournament. The final transaction of the deal is expected to be concluded in the first quarter of 2022, as currently the deal is gone through by ATP and WTA.
The Mutua Madrid Open, one of the nine ATP Masters 1000 and four WTA 1000 Mandatory events, will join IMG’s roster of leading tennis tournaments, which already includes the Miami Open and several other ATP and WTA events
Through this acquisition, the Madrid Trophy Promotion (MTP), which is the Spanish entity that operates the tournament, will also become part of IMG. Adding to that, MTP’s CEO and tournament director, Gerard Tsobanian will be labelled as the Senior Vice President of Tennis Events, IMG.
Tsobanian and his team will be continuing their work to manage the day-to-day running of the Mutua Madrid Open as part of the IMG’s global tennis events division which will be led by Gavin Forbes.
Speaking on the occasion, Sam Zussman, Co-President of Media and Events, IMG, said: “The Mutua Madrid Open will be a strong addition to our global events portfolio and tennis business, which will now boast two of the three mandatory combined events on both tours. We’re looking forward to leveraging Endeavor’s broader network to further enhance the fan experience and add value across production, media, brand partnerships, retail, and hospitality, just as we’ve done with the Miami Open.”
The 20th anniversary of Mutua Madrid Open will take place next year from April 26 to May 8, with the venue fixed at Caja Magica, Madrid, Spain. While the tournament is one of the two key clay-court events leading up to Roland Garros.
The MTP also runs the Acciona Open de Espana gold tournament, which will now be supported by IMG’s golf events division, after the acquisition. The golf tournament was founded back in 1912 and has a rich history, with the games taking place in October and broadcast to more than 120 countries.