When the Madrid Open changed ownership in 2009, they welcomed a Romanian billionaire with no shortage of tennis experience.
Ion Tiriac, a former ice hockey defender at the 1964 Winter Olympics, played professional tennis for 11 years and won 34 singles titles.
Nicknamed the ‘Brasov Bulldozer’ in tribute to his birthplace, he was a men’s doubles champion at the 1970 French Open with Ilie Nastase.
Tiriac retired nine years later but remained within the world of tennis by switching to coaching and representative roles.
Whilst he did manage his fellow Roland Garros victor Nastase, it was Boris Becker who became his most notable client.
The young prodigy turned professional in 1984 and became managed by Tiriac alongside coaching from Gunther Bosch.
A year later, Becker became the youngest ever men’s singles Wimbledon champion aged just 17 years, seven months and 15 days.
It was the first of five Grand Slam titles he won under Tiriac before their successful partnership was brought to an end in 1993.
Away from tennis, Tiriac was involved with business and founded a bank in his own name, which is now known as UniCredit Bank.
His interest in cars and motorcycles also led to a collection of vehicles with past ownership from A-listers such as Al Capone and Elton John.
Tiriac became a national treasure in his home country in 2006 when he was ranked 77th amongst the 100 Greatest Romanians.
Then his wealth received huge recognition the following year when he was named as the first ever Romanian on Forbes’ billionaire list.
He was joint-840th with an estimated net worth of $1.1billion, a figure that now stands at a whopping $2.2b.
Despite huge monetary gains, Tiriac never lost his love for sport amid a stint as the Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee president.
A notable return to tennis was sealed in 2009 when he began his ownership of the Madrid Open, seven years after it was founded.
The tournament only featured men’s singles and doubles prior to this but women were introduced upon the new-look hierarchy’s arrival.
Tiriac also oversaw a venue change once he took over as the Madrid Arena was replaced by the multi-purpose Caja Magica.
However, he controversially decided to change the appearance of the playing surfaces in 2012, an alteration that was very much short-lived.
Clay courts normally don a bold orange colouring but Tiriac opted to use blue clay instead so fans could see the ball better.
Both ATP and WTA matches incorporated the design before Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal threatened to boycott the tournament.
The two tennis icons complained about their abilities to play on blue clay as they suffered respective quarter-final and third round exits.
Given their less slippery nature, orange clay courts swiftly returned in 2013 and have remained at the Madrid Open ever since.
Although he announced a ten-year extension at the tournament in 2019, Tiriac would later sell the event to global sports company IMG.
News of the reported €390m [£334m] sale was revealed in December 2021 and completed by April 2022.
The Madrid Open sits alongside the Miami Open in IMG’s portfolio but both competitions have become of interest to a private equity firm.
Sky News reported last month that CVC Capital Partners have been eyeing a £790m bid for a collection of assets within tennis.
IMG still retain their ownership, though it could be argued that the Madrid Open’s stature was significantly boosted by Tiriac’s reign.
Romanian news outlet Digi Sport reported in 2019 that the Spanish capital has earned annual benefits of €107m [£92m] with the event.
As well as this, the total prize funds increased for the players during Tiriac’s 12-year ownership of the ATP and WTA 1000 competition.
Perfect Tennis say that the total amount available across the men’s and women’s tournaments stood at €6.335m [£5.436m] in 2009.
This rose to just below €13.1m [£11.2m] ten years after the Romanian’s debut year, marking a significant growth.
No matches were played in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the prize fund dipped to €5.229m [£4.487m] a year later.
But for 2025, the money available in Madrid reaches around €15.9m [£13.9m], with each singles winner banking €985,030 [£858,065].
