Rio Open Presented by Claro: 2025 Preview

South America’s premier tennis event, the Rio Open, is set to take place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from February 13-23, 2025.

The tournament’s significance for players and fans creates an atmosphere of anticipation every year as the date approaches and this year’s event will be no different.

Many fans also have a keen interest in betting on the event and look out for the best odds on sports betting sites to add an extra layer of excitement to the action on the court.

The Opens appeal to players is of significance because of the bearing it has on their ranking in the ATP 500 circuit.

The ATP 500 tournaments, sixteen of them set for 2025, reward the winners of the singles events with 500 ranking points.

Of course, the financial incentive is another motivator. Last year’s prize money was $2,271,715 and this year’s is expected to be in those regions. Fan anticipation is another element as most will be looking to see if the defending champion, Argentinian, Sebastian Baez will defend his title.

Tournament Overview

The Rio Open’s first edition was held in 2014 and has seen ten different champions over the years, with Carlos Alcaraz being the youngest in 2022.

It is the only tournament on the ATP 500 tour played in South America and the only event of the tour played in Brazil since 2020. It is played at the 6200 capacity Jockey Club Brasileiro, on eight outdoor clay courts.

There were suggestions to move the tournaments from the clay courts in 2019 to hard courts elsewhere, but none materialized.

Key Players to Watch

• Alexander Zverev

World No.2 Alexander Zverev has had an impressive start to 2025 with a positive win loss ratio. The German did well recently in the Australian Open but came up short against Jannik Sinner. He will go into the event as one of the top seeds and is tipped to walk away with the ultimate prize at the end.

• Holger Rune

One of the players ascending in the rankings as Rio approaches, Rune has had a good run with notable first, second and third round victories in the Australian Open against Zhang Zhizhen, Matteo Berrettini and Miomir Kecmanovic. The Dane is still relatively young at 21 years old and will be making his debut in Rio Janeiro and is one to look out for.

• Lorenzo Musetti

Currently ranked in the top twenty, Lorenzo Musetti has made significant strides in 2025, making it to the quarter-finals of the Hong Kong Open, and as far as the third round in the Australian Open. The Italian utilises the one-hand backhand technique and has an aggressive playing style on the court that is suitable for the clay surface they will be playing on.

Anticipated Matchups and Predictions

Based on the draw and how players are seeded, we can expect to see high profile matchups between the top-ranked players and some with the underdogs.

Defending champion, Baez, can be expected to go up against the likes of Alexander Zverev at some time in the tournament. Alcaraz can expect to face some formidable opponents as well in the likes of the
up-and-coming Danish talent, Rune.

We can also expect to see the top-ranked players on the clay surface do well. Alcaraz is one of them, ranked number two as per statistics that compile such stats. Zverev, Jannik Sinner and Francesco Cerundolo are other notable names that have a good track record on clay and will have an edge over other players. That is not to say other participants will not do well because it is an athlete’s responsibility to adapt to the conditions.

Looking at the participants, Baez will not have it easy and will find it difficult to defend his title. We can expect upsets as well from the less fancied players like Alejandro Tabilo.

Anticipation For Rio Open 2025 in Full Motion

This is one of the big events to look out for on the calendar, the only of its kind in South America and one set for tough conditions on clay. We can expect a new champion, or the defending champion might just shock us and defend his title, although that has not happened in its history. Be sure to track the latest developments as the dates get nearer, so you can align your schedule and not miss the excitement.