Barcelona, 18 April 2024. This morning saw the presentation of the 7th TRAM Barcelona Open, the international wheelchair tennis tournament which is now in its 7th year. Once again, from 22 to 26 May, the facilities of the Real Club de Polo de Barcelona will be hosting the world’s best players in this sport. In this seventh edition of the event, which is being organised by the Johan Cruyff Foundation with title sponsor TRAM, the Barcelona tram company, and other sponsors Moventis, Quirónsalud, La Vanguardia and Uniqlo, some 50 players from over 22 different countries will be taking part.

The presentation ceremony took place at the Real Club de Tennis Barcelona, as part of the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell – 71st Conde de Godó Trophy, and was attended by the Sports Councillor of Barcelona City Council and Sports Delegate for Barcelona regional Council, David Escudé; the Director General of TRAM, Humberto López Vilalta; the Corporate Vice-president of Internal and Institutional Communication of Moventia, Silvia Martí; the Sports Director of the Royal Spanish Tennis Federation, Javier Soler; the Chairman of the Catalan Tennis Federation, Jordi Tamayo; the Head of the Tennis Section of the Real Club de Polo de Barcelona, Carlos Homedes; the Regional Director of Business Development of Quirónsalud, Carlos Seguí; the Director of Sponsorships and Communication of La Vanguardia, Alejandro Teodoro; the ambassadors of the TRAM Barcelona Open, Conchita Martínez and Alex Corretja; the Director of the Cruyff Foundation, Pati Roura; and the Director of the TRAM Barcelona Open, Jose Coronado.

Qualifying tournament for the Paris 2024 Paralympics

 In its seventh edition, the TRAM Barcelona Open has held onto its position in the top category – ITF1, making it the only tournament in this category in our country. This year it will once again be showcasing some of the world’s most exciting players, consolidating it as one of the 10 most important tournaments in the international Uniqlo Wheelchair Tennis Tour. It is also a qualifying tournament for the 2024 Paris Paralympics, as well as the preferred warm-up tournament for the clay court tour prior to the French Open.

Wheelchair tennis is a spectacular sport, with more than 1,000 players in the international ranking and 180 tournaments a year in 40 countries around the world. The only difference to standard tennis is that the ball is allowed to bounce twice, if necessary. Even so, players at this level of competition only use a single bounce on 80% of the points, and the speed of serves can reach 150 km/h.

With the TRAM Barcelona Open, for five days the capital of Catalonia, a key city for the worlds of tennis and sport in general, will become a major hub for adapted sports and, on Saturday 25 May and the morning of Sunday 26 May, it will host the finals in the doubles and quad categories, before the grand finals in the men’s and women’s singles categories.

Social goals

In addition to its sporting objectives, the TRAM Barcelona Open also has social goals, specifically bringing visibility to wheelchair tennis and the values it represents – such as equal opportunities and social inclusion (with a special focus on children and young people), through exhibitions, clinics, talks to schools and different activities held to coincide with the tournament.

The TRAM Barcelona Open will be open to the public, and tickets, which are free of charge, can be reserved through the tournament website (www.barcelona-open.com). The tournament can also be followed live through its official mobile app (TRAM Barcelona Open) available through the App Store and Google Play Store.

TRAM

TRAM is the public transport company that has been managing the Barcelona Metropolitan Region’s two tram networks for the past 20 years in the most efficient way possible, offering the best service to passengers for quick, comfortable and safe travel. It is the most accessible public transport mode and the most highly rated since it was launched, according to the annual Working Day Mobility Survey carried out by the Metropolitan Transport Area. One of its objectives is to generate user confidence in order to overcome and push back limits. The TRAM Barcelona Open is one of the company’s most important Corporate Social Responsibility projects and is framed within its annual CSR Plan as an initiative that promotes equality, inclusion and the will to succeed.