Joining defending champions Andrey Rublev and Iga Swiatek in Madrid

Our favorite players are back in Madrid for the upcoming combined 1000s tournament, the Mutua Madrid Open.

Everyone in the men’s and women’s Top 20 rankings are set to compete, after traveling from all over Europe to their next clay-court destination in the summer swing—some of whom are hopping a flight from coastal Spanish city, Barcelona.

Click here to catch all the action from the ATP 500 Barcelona Open on Tennis Channel.

Since 2009, the Madrid Open has taken place in the Southern region of Madrid, located in the Madrid Río district known for sports and recreation.

There are 21 total districts to discover in Spain’s capital, from La Latina and its festivals, to Paseo del Arte and its cultural epicenter, to Salesas and its fashion-forward establishments.

Read More: Top 5 things to do in Madrid

Each neighborhood in Madrid has its own food flare as well, which is just as good a reason to explore as many districts as possible across the country’s capital. That's the best part about traveling for tennis without the whole being a professional player part, if you ask this tennis traveler.

Whether visiting through championship Sunday or popping in for a second round battle, Madrid’s best-hidden bites are waiting to be tasted. Paellas, patatas bravas, and empanadas are some of the more well-known dishes across Spain, and undoubtedly highly encouraged for any traveling tennis foodie, but there’s a few local favorites to indulge in as well that are less familiar.

Instead of hyping up gallinejas and entresijos, deep-fried tripe* served in few traditional restaurants across the city, we’re going to focus on the squid sandwich. (*Tripe as in stomach, both lamb and chicken stomach, to be exact.)

Not only does ‘squid sandwich’ have a friendlier ring to it, but it is also the most common and traditional street-food in Madrid.

Most Americans pair their calamari with marinara, yet in Spain squid is served between the halves of freshly sliced bread, sometimes with mayonnaise, other times without. One thing we know for certain is that no American will turn down fresh Spanish baked bread.

We’ll be streaming coverage on Tennis Channel all week long from the Mutua Madrid Open—which will surely be more entertaining with a squid sandwich in hand.

Play begins on Monday, April 21, and continues through Sunday, May 4, filling our tennis bellies with two weeks’ worth of matches.

Andrey Rublev and Iga Swiatek come in as the defending champion: Rublev with a new coach in his corner, and Swiatek on a mission to win her first title since Roland Garros 2024.