Morocco Open

History of the WTA Morocco Open

The WTA Morocco Open was established in 2001 and has developed into a regular fixture on the women’s professional tennis circuit. Officially named the Grand Prix SAR La Princesse Lalla Meryem, the tournament is named in honour of Princess Lalla Meryem of Morocco. Also known as the Morocco Open or Rabat Grand Prix, it is a WTA 250 tournament played on outdoor clay courts. Its history is particularly interesting because the competition has not always called Rabat home. Instead, it has travelled between several Moroccan cities, giving the tournament a geographical journey almost as varied as the tennis played on its courts. According to the official WTA tournament history, the inaugural edition took place in Casablanca in July 2001, before the event began its series of relocations.

2001–2004: The beginning in Casablanca

The first edition of the Morocco Open took place from 23 to 29 July 2001 in Casablanca. At that time, the event belonged to the lower tiers of the women’s professional tennis structure rather than today’s WTA 250 category. The inaugural singles title was won by Hungarian player Zsófia Gubacsi, while the doubles championship went to Ludmila Bacheva of Bulgaria and Asa Svensson of Sweden. The tournament’s opening prize-money commitment was US$110,000, according to the WTA’s historical records.

The early editions helped establish Morocco as a host of international women’s professional tennis. In 2002, Patricia Wartusch of Austria won the singles title, while Petra Mandula and Wartusch combined to claim the doubles championship. In 2003, Argentina’s Rita Grande won the singles competition, and Gisela Dulko and María Emilia Salerni secured the doubles title. Émilie Loit of France then won the singles crown in 2004, adding another name to the event’s growing roll of champions.

These first four editions established the tournament’s identity as a clay-court competition capable of attracting players from different countries and tennis backgrounds. Although it did not yet possess the status of a major international event, it offered professional players an opportunity to earn ranking points and titles. Every established tournament has to start somewhere, and the Morocco Open began by steadily building its own place in the tennis calendar.

2005–2006: A move to Rabat

In 2005, the tournament moved from Casablanca to Rabat for the first time. The change marked the beginning of a new chapter, although Rabat would not become its permanent home until later. During this period, the competition was classified as a Tier IV event within the WTA’s ranking structure. Spanish player Nuria Llagostera Vives won the 2005 singles title, while Émilie Loit and Barbora Strýcová claimed the doubles championship.

In 2006, American Meghann Shaughnessy became the singles champion. Chinese players Zheng Jie and Yan Zi won the doubles title, continuing the event’s tradition of attracting successful international partnerships. The results from these seasons illustrate how the tournament provided a competitive stage for players who were making their mark on the professional circuit. It also showed that the event’s appeal was not limited to one national tennis tradition or playing style.

2007–2012: Fez becomes the tournament’s next home

The Morocco Open moved to Fez in 2007, beginning another period of change in its location. The singles title that year went to Venezuelan player Milagros Sequera, while Sania Mirza of India and Vania King of the United States won the doubles championship. The 2007 edition was also a reminder that the tournament could provide a platform for players from a wide range of countries, with singles and doubles champions representing different parts of the international tennis community.

In 2008, Romania’s Sorana Cîrstea won the singles title, defeating Russia’s Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the final. Pavlyuchenkova would go on to become a prominent name in women’s tennis, making this result an interesting entry in the tournament’s history. The doubles title went to Cîrstea and Pavlyuchenkova, meaning the singles finalists also featured in the championship-winning doubles pairing.

Other notable singles champions during the Fez period included Iveta Benešová in 2009, Iveta Benešová’s compatriot-related Czech and European contemporaries notwithstanding, and later players who continued to build the event’s international profile. More precisely, the official winners’ list records Anabel Medina Garrigues as the 2009 champion, followed by Iveta Melzer in 2010, Alberta Brianti in 2011 and Kiki Bertens in 2012. These results demonstrate the tournament’s continuing importance to players competing for titles on clay.

The 2012 title was particularly significant for Bertens, who was at the beginning of a career that would eventually see her reach the top ten of the WTA singles rankings. Her success in Morocco formed part of a longer journey towards becoming one of the tour’s strongest clay-court players. It is another example of why the tournament’s historical records are worth exploring: champions who are not yet global superstars can later become familiar names to tennis audiences worldwide.

2013–2015: The Marrakesh years

In 2013, the tournament moved from Fez to Marrakesh, another change in venue that reflected its unusual travelling history. Italian player Francesca Schiavone won the singles title that year. Schiavone was already an established figure in women’s tennis and had won the French Open singles title in 2010, making her victory in Morocco an important addition to the event’s list of champions. The doubles title went to Mandy Minella and Timea Babos.

The 2014 singles championship was won by María Teresa Torró Flor of Spain, who defeated Romina Oprandi in the final. Oprandi subsequently partnered Garbiñe Muguruza to win the doubles competition, providing the tournament with another memorable doubles result. Muguruza would later win both the French Open and Wimbledon singles titles, further reinforcing the event’s connection with players who went on to achieve major success.

In 2015, Elina Svitolina of Ukraine won the singles title, while Tímea Babos and Kristina Mladenovic captured the doubles championship. Svitolina would go on to reach world No. 3 in singles and become one of the most successful players of her generation. Babos, meanwhile, established an outstanding reputation in doubles, winning multiple major titles. Their achievements underline the quality of players who have appeared in the Morocco Open’s historical record.

2016 onwards: Rabat becomes the established home

In 2016, the tournament returned to Rabat, where it has remained based since that year. Its established venue is Club des Cheminots, and the event has become closely associated with Morocco’s capital. The singles championship in 2016 was won by Timea Bacsinszky of Switzerland. The move back to Rabat provided the tournament with a more settled geographical identity after years of changes between Casablanca, Rabat, Fez and Marrakesh.

The following seasons produced several notable champions. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova won the singles title in 2017, followed by Elise Mertens in 2018 and Maria Sakkari in 2019. These players brought different strengths to the tournament, from Pavlyuchenkova’s powerful baseline game to Mertens’ consistency and Sakkari’s athletic approach. Their victories also reinforced the Morocco Open’s role as a competitive stop on the spring clay-court circuit.

The tournament did not appear in the WTA’s completed-winners list for 2020 or 2021, creating a break in its annual championship record. It returned in 2022, when Italian player Martina Trevisan won the singles title by defeating Claire Liu 6–2, 6–1 in the final. The victory was Trevisan’s first WTA singles title. Her run was an important milestone in a career that had already demonstrated considerable promise on clay.

In 2023, Lucia Bronzetti of Italy won the championship after defeating Austria’s Julia Grabher 6–4, 5–7, 7–5 in a closely contested final. The three-set match highlighted the physical demands and momentum swings that make clay-court tennis so engaging. Bronzetti’s victory added another Italian name to the tournament’s singles honour roll.

The 2024 edition saw American Peyton Stearns capture the singles title. She defeated Egypt’s Mayar Sherif 6–2, 6–1 in the final. The doubles championship went to Irina Khromacheva and Yana Sizikova, who defeated Anna Danilina and Xu Yifan 6–3, 6–2. Stearns’ victory demonstrated the opportunities the Morocco Open offers players looking to establish themselves on the WTA Tour.

In 2025, Australia’s Maya Joint won the singles championship by defeating Jaqueline Cristian 6–3, 6–2. Joint also won the doubles title alongside Oksana Kalashnikova, defeating Angelica Moratelli and Camilla Rosatello 6–3, 7–5. Winning both competitions in the same week was a particularly notable achievement, requiring success in two different draws and different tactical environments.

The 2026 tournament took place from 18 to 23 May in Rabat, with Petra Marcinko of Croatia winning the singles title. Marcinko defeated second seed Jessica Bouzas Maneiro in the final, 6–3, 6–4. The doubles championship was won by Emma Chong and Makoto Kempen, according to the WTA’s official tournament record. By this point, the event had developed into an established WTA 250 competition with a recognised place on the international clay-court calendar.