Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and US Open - four Grand Slams, and that's it. That's the way it's been for years. But maybe the number of grand slams will grow in the future. The Italian Tennis Federation has huge ambitions and wants to organise a fifth major.
According to the Italian newspaper La Stampa, the federation has offered around $550 million to buy the Madrid Open, which is owned by global company IMG. The Italians want to buy the tournament and also get its date on the calendar so they can create a new Grand Slam event.
The Madrid Open and the Italian Open are on the calendar immediately after each other and each event lasts two weeks, shadowing the WTA 1000 and ATP Masters 1000 events. This year's edition of the Madrid tournament will end three days before the start of the main event in Rome.
The last major clay court dress rehearsal in Rome is scheduled for May 7th-18th, and the second major of the season, the French Open, starts just a week later.
The position in the calendar is thus not ideal and it is quite hard to imagine two Grand Slams taking place in one month, most likely on the same surface. It should be remembered, however, that Wimbledon starts just three weeks after the end of the battles on the Paris clay.
Italian tennis has come alive recently
A Grand Slam in Italy? Given the last 12 months or so, it makes sense. After all, Jannik Sinner has dominated the men's tennis circuit since the start of last season and it is at this year's Masters in Rome that he will jump back into action after a three-month doping ban. Among the women, Jasmine Paolini is in the top 6 of the world rankings.
In addition, the Italians have dominated the last two editions of the Davis Cup and the Italians beat Slovakia in the final of the last edition of the Billie Jean King Cup.
On top of that, Sinner is the reigning champion of both Hard Grand Slams and last year in Melbourne became the first Italian Grand Slam winner since Flavia Pennetta at the 2015 US Open.
Apparently the federation is really serious about hosting a fifth Grand Slam. In fact, it will already build three new courts for this year's Italian Open, including the Supertennis Arena, which will hold 6,500 spectators and will be the second largest court after Campo Centrale.