Conde de Godó · History

The Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell, traditionally known as the Trofeo Conde de Godó, has been organised by the Real Club de Tenis Barcelona since 1953 at its grounds in the Pedralbes district. It is a men’s clay-court tournament held every April as part of the European clay swing that leads into Roland Garros. It has belonged to the ATP 500 category since that tier of the tour was created in 2009, and Banc Sabadell has been its title sponsor since 2008. Its list of champions includes Vic Seixas, Roy Emerson, Manuel Santana, Björn Borg, Mats Wilander, Thomas Muster, Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz.

Founded in Pedralbes

The tournament was launched in 1953 at the initiative of Carlos Godó Valls, the second Count of Godó, when the club moved to its new home in Pedralbes. The first final was won by American Vic Seixas against Argentina’s Enrique Morea 6-3, 6-4, 22-20, a marathon third set typical of an era without tiebreaks. Americans dominated the early editions: Tony Trabert won in 1954, Art Larsen in 1955 and Herbert Flam took back-to-back titles in 1956 and 1957. Sweden’s Sven Davidson triumphed in 1958 and Australia’s Neale Fraser in 1959. Until 1980 the event was a combined tournament, with men’s and women’s draws played in the same week.

The first Spanish champions

Andrés Gimeno became the first Spaniard to lift the trophy in 1960. Australia’s Roy Emerson won in 1961, 1963 and 1964, and in between Manuel Santana claimed the 1962 edition, a title he would win again in 1970. Juan Gisbert won in 1965, Brazil’s Thomaz Koch in 1966 and Martin Mulligan in 1967 and 1968. Once the Open Era began, Manuel Orantes collected titles in 1969, 1971 and 1976, as well as four lost finals between 1972 and 1977. From 1970 the tournament was part of the Grand Prix circuit, and in 1971 it was also included in the WCT circuit while remaining open to players outside that organisation.

Borg, Wilander and the 1980s

Björn Borg won in 1975 and 1977. His compatriot Mats Wilander took three titles in a row from 1982 to 1984 and reached two more finals, in 1985 and 1987. The decade belonged to clay-court specialists: France’s Thierry Tulasne won in 1985, Sweden’s Kent Carlsson in 1986 and 1988, Argentina’s Martín Jaite in 1987 and Ecuador’s Andrés Gómez in 1989 and 1990. In 1990, with the birth of the ATP Tour, the event joined the Championship Series, the tier ranked just below the biggest tournaments on the calendar.

The 1990s and the turn of the century

Emilio Sánchez brought the title back to Spain in 1991, and Carlos Costa kept it at home in 1992. Ukraine’s Andrei Medvedev followed in 1993 and the Netherlands’ Richard Krajicek in 1994, before Austria’s Thomas Muster won in 1995 and 1996. Albert Costa triumphed in 1997, American Todd Martin in 1998, Félix Mantilla in 1999 and Russia’s Marat Safin in 2000. The new century brought titles for Juan Carlos Ferrero in 2001, Argentina’s Gastón Gaudio in 2002, Carlos Moyà in 2003 and Tommy Robredo in 2004.

Nadal’s twelve titles

Rafael Nadal won his first Barcelona title in 2005, beating Ferrero in the final, and went on to win every edition through 2009. Fernando Verdasco broke the streak in 2010, and Nadal won again in 2011, 2012 and 2013. Japan’s Kei Nishikori took the 2014 and 2015 editions before the Mallorcan reclaimed the trophy from 2016 to 2018. In 2017 the club renamed its centre court the Pista Rafa Nadal. Dominic Thiem beat Daniil Medvedev in the 2019 final, the 2020 edition was cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and in 2021 Nadal defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas for his twelfth title, the tournament record.

Alcaraz and the champions of the 2020s

Carlos Alcaraz won in 2022 by beating Pablo Carreño Busta 6-3, 6-2, and defended the title in 2023 against Tsitsipas, 6-3, 6-4. The Greek also lost the 2024 final, this time to Norway’s Casper Ruud, 7-5, 6-3. In 2025 Denmark’s Holger Rune beat Alcaraz 7-6 (8-6), 6-2. Alcaraz withdrew from the 2026 draw through injury after his opening match, and France’s Arthur Fils won that edition by defeating Andrey Rublev 6-2, 7-6 (7-2) in the final.