Barcelona to host top wheelchair tennis stars at TRAM Open

Barcelona’s TRAM Open turned the Reial Club de Polo de Barcelona into a rare showcase for adaptive sport at the very top of the game. From 27 to 30 May, the tournament carried ITF WC1000 status, offered $45,000 in prize money and brought together the top 10 in both the men’s and women’s draws, with Martín de la Puente, Spain’s No. 1 and world No. 3, among the headline names.

That level matters in a city that likes to see itself as a major sports capital. Barcelona said the 2026 edition was the first Super Series, ITF1000-level wheelchair tennis tournament ever staged there, and only the fifth such host city in the world, after Australia, Japan, the United States and France. The event’s growth has been steady too: the 2025 edition drew about 50 players from more than 20 nationalities to the same venue, a sign that Barcelona had already become a regular stop on the wheelchair-tennis map before this latest leap in status.

The tournament’s own mission points beyond the scoreboard. Organizers said the aim was to raise awareness of wheelchair tennis among all citizens and give greater visibility to the athletes, with a special focus on children and young people. That goal was reinforced through the link with the Cruyff Foundation, which has supported adapted sport and social-transformation projects for children and youngsters with special needs in more than 20 countries since 1995.

Barcelona also widened the platform around the event. The city said Esport3, Teledeporte and Tennis Channel were set to broadcast, for the first time, the men’s semifinals and the women’s and men’s singles finals on Saturday 30 May, giving the tournament a public window well beyond the club fences. For wheelchair tennis, that kind of exposure is not just a nice extra. It is part of how the sport builds recognition, legitimacy and a larger pipeline of young players.

The bigger question for Barcelona is whether that visibility lasts after the cameras leave. The TRAM Open offered a polished, international stage for elite wheelchair tennis, but the true test of an inclusive sports city is whether local clubs, facilities and public programming can turn one marquee week into year-round pathways.