The event is the only ATP 500 event in South America and the only ATP tournament held in Brazil. It was first played in 2014 when Rafael Nadal headlined the event alongside fellow Spaniard David Ferrer, and the most successful clay-court player in the history of the sport ended up winning the tournament.
Since its inception, it's largely been dominated by clay-court specialists, even though no player ever won it twice. Former champions include players like Rafael Nadal, Dominic Thiem, Cristian Garin, Carlos Alcaraz, and Cameron Norrie.
The Rio Open is hosted by the Jockey Club Brasileiro in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and it's played on clay courts. In 2019, the tournament organizers considered moving the tournament to the Olympic Tennis Centre's hard courts, but the move was not completed.
The hard courts of the Olympic Tennis Centre were suggested to motivate players like Novak Djokovic, Juan Martin del Potro, and Roger Federer since they usually refused to compete in the tournament.
Because of sponsorship reasons, the tournament is officially called the Rio Open, presented by Claro, and prior to the Rio Open, tournaments such as the Rio de Janeiro Open, which was an indoor carper-court tournament, were held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
A women's event was also held in the past in Rio de Janeiro, most recently between 2014 and 2016, but it was replaced by the Hungarian Open in the calendar.
