Rome gets ready for Internazionali BNL d'Italia.

Rome is preparing for the Internazionali BNL d'Italia tennis tournament, also known as the Italian Open, by setting up a red clay court in the central Piazza del Popolo.

The court will host the men's and women's pre-qualification matches until 4 May, in collaboration between the city and Federtennis, ahead of the 81st edition of the prestigious tennis event.

There will be two free pre-qualifying matches played twice a day, at 11.00 and 15.00, and the court will remain in place until 19 May for use by young players from local tennis clubs.

R̶o̶m̶e̶ *Piazza del Popolo wasn't built in a day#IBI24 pic.twitter.com/EWpfATAWfw

— Internazionali BNL d'Italia (@InteBNLdItalia) April 30, 2024

The city says there may even be an appearance by Italian tennis stars Jannik Sinner or Matteo Berrettini at the court in Piazza del Popolo, ahead of the Italian Open which takes place at the Foro Italico from 6-19 May.

"Bringing a piece of the Internazionali to the heart of the city and tennis within the reach of all Romans is an undertaking that we have attempted for years" - said Angelo Binaghi, president of the Italian Tennis and Padel Federation - "despite being aware of the difficulties it would entail even thinking about setting up a red clay court in a place like this."

Rome tourism and sports councillor Alessandro Onorato said he was proud of the initiative which will "bring sport closer to people regardless of their socio-economic situation", adding: "No one believed that we would be able to carry out this project, but we did."

Organisers are expecting a record 350,000 tennis fans to attend the Internazionali BNL d'Italia, or Rome Masters, which will be played on a red clay surface across 14 courts at the Foro Italico sporting complex.

For full details see the Internazionali BNL d'Italia website. Photo Internazionali BNL d'Italia.