Porto Open

With more than 100 years of tennis in Porto, it was necessary to establish an international competition grid at Invicta, which annually projects the true image of a reference city of tennis, one of the places in the world where tennis began to take its first steps.

In 1999, the Porto City Council and the Porto Tennis Association conceived a project for a major international event that began to be organized in the city's tennis facilities, at the Monte Aventino Sports Complex.

The Porto Open became the new headquarters of the International Championships of Portugal. It was a test of Portuguese federated tennis with the appropriate and dignified conditions to host these Championships, which since 1973 have not played but which are part of the culture and tradition of national tennis. The first edition took place in 1902, where women have already played in mixed pairs. However, the first women's team was played in 1905, making this women's competition one of the oldest in the history of sport.

That is how, 100 years after the first edition of the International Championships of Portugal, the organization of Porto Open, retrieves a very old event of international tennis and the genesis of Portuguese federated tennis, reviving a prestigious female trophy and dropping traditions: International Champion from Portugal.

In 1997, the city started to have another proper and suitable place to receive international tennis events. A modern space prepared to welcome all visitors and satisfy the needs of professional players: the Monte Aventino Sports Complex. At its inauguration there was an unforgettable exhibition with the participation of Anna Kournikova and Sofia Prazeres, accompanied by Yannick Noah and Mansour Bahrami. A year later, an international women's event (Toyota Oporto Ladies Open) was organized, but the Porto Open and the revival of the International Championships in Portugal were officially in 1999, where Dessislava Topalova (Bulgaria) was the champion of the women's event with $ 25,000 of prize-money.

In the 2001 and 2002 editions, Porto Open was part of the international women's circuit WTA, both $ 140,000, where the Spanish legend Arantxa Sanchez-Vicário and the Spanish Angeles Montolio were, respectively.

After 10 editions, according to the idea of this project being a city tournament, the Porto City Council and the Porto Tennis Association, decided to propose to the Porto Tennis Club to hold the 2010 edition on their premises, reviving the historical moments of its central court.

The Clube de Ténis do Porto received the invitation with great satisfaction and, for ten years, endeavored to honor the presence of the great international competition of the city in its facilities.

In the 20th edition, in 2019, it was time to go back to the origins of the renovated Monte Aventino Sports Complex, with the Porto Open now being played in hard court.