Currently, it is the only ATP Tour competition held on the African continent. Each season, the tournament takes place on the clay courts at the Royal Tennis Club de Marrakech. However, the ATP event was originally held at the Complexe Al Amal in Casablanca before it shifted to Marrakech in 2016.
In addition, the competition was previously a Challenger level event on the men’s tour. This changed in 1990 when it was upgraded to an ATP tour-level event. The Marrakech Open has references to Morroco’s royalty.
Its alternative name, the Grand Prix Hassan II, is a tribute to the former king, who was both a huge tennis fan and patron of the competition until his death in 1999. But the tournament still has royal associations today as Morocco's King Mohammed VI completely funds the event each year.
The clay court competition is often held in April and players often use it as a clay court warm-up ahead of the Roland Garros. A singles draw of 32 players and a doubles competition of 16 pairs take place during the one-week tournament. Since the competition changed to the Marrakech Open in 2016, it has been won by six different singles players.
However, former Spanish player Pablo Andújar has the most wins in the Casablanca Open and Marrakech Open, with three titles. In the doubles, no pair has dominated the Marrakech Open, as it has been won by six different partners since 2016.
Between 1990 and 2015, in the Casablanca Open, Romanian Horia Tecău won the competition on three separate occasions with three different playing partners.
