We offer you our top Monte Carlo Masters Tips for attending, having just gone last week and it’s still fresh in our minds. We learned tons of insider information on the best seats, taxis around Monte Carlo, the best dining spots, catching the greats on the practice courts and trying for autographs and much more, so here are our top Monte Carlo Masters tips and here is our ticketing guide to the Monte Carlo Rolex Masters.
Best Seats for the Monte Carlo Masters
The sun at the Monte Carlo Masters is brutal! It’s not hot, it’s not humid, but I have never felt sun like that in my life. The question is do you want it on your face or your back? On the east side of the stadium (sections K, D, G) you will face the sun and on the west side (sections E, F, J), it will be on your back. On the south side of the stadium (section S), the sun will be above you to your left. The only sections of the stadium facing the water are Loge A & H, unless of course, you are able sit in the box with His Royal Highness.
Court Rainier III vs Court de Princes
Rainier is the main court but there are matches through the Round of 16 on Court de Princes. You must buy a separate ticket for each court, however if you buy your tickets directly from the MCM website, you will be offered a discounted price for Court des Princes when buying a Court Rainier 3 for the same day, usually around $20.
Get Hooked Up with a Taxi Driver
No taxis drive the streets looking for fares as it is not legal, so they all must be called. Taxis in Monte Carlo are notoriously hard to come by and Uber isn’t allowed. In nearby France, there are a few Ubers, but they are not reliable as a means of transportation as there are so few. Usually, you’ll need a hotel or restaurant to call you a car upon leaving and there’s all kinds of rules about Monaco drivers not picking you up in France and vice versa..
Not worry, Tennis Event Guide is here for you – call our guy Bahri! Bahri works in both Monaco and France, plus much of Europe, should you need long distance travel. Bahri is a retired policeman who is happy to serve your transportation needs, around town, to and from the airport, from one country to another, Bahri is your guy. You can call, email or What’s App him: +33 6 19 94 88 60, bahri@ab-driver.com,www.ab-driver.com. Be sure to tell him Melissa from TennisEventGuide sent you!
Check out the Practice Courts
High above the stadiums, with some of the best views of the sea, are the practice courts, where you may see your favorite players and get their autographs. We actually saw Caroline Wozniacki practicing and she stopped to take dozens of photos and sign autographs. Not sure what she was doing there, but we were sure happy to see her.
On Site Restaurants and Scheduling Meals
Having hired what were supposedly professionals to plan our vacation, we were very disappointed to learn two of our three onsite meals were scheduled over the matches. Since the Monte Carlo Masters is only during the day and generally runs about 11:30am to 5pm, with four matches per day consecutively, you’ll obviously have to schedule some dining time if you want to be seated and served at one of the many restaurants on site. However, try for around 12:30 or 1pm, which will give you some time to catch the first match and will probably overlap with the break between the first and second matches. The restaurants on site are all lovely, but very expensive. Whereas you can easily grab a sandwich or pasta salad, snack and some Champagne from the onsite vendors for a reasonable price. I believe my sandwich, water and champagne cost around 21 euros. Can’t beat that. The restaurants all have great names as well, such as La Terrasse, Le Tie-Break, du Village, Le Smash, LOPEN, Le Masters – Nobu and Le Cinq Sets.
Back to: Tournament Guide to the Monte Carlo Rolex Masters.
Monte Carlo Masters Match Times
Monte Carlo Masters is a men’s only ATP 1000 tournament played on two courts, Court Rainier III (show court) and Court de Princes. Sessions start around 11:30 with 2-4 matches played consecutively throughout the day. Personally, I think Round of 16 (Thursday) is one of the best days to go as you get to see the most matches and all the best players.
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More Monte Carlo Masters Tips
- The bus is crowded after the matches. Allow lots of time for traffic.
- Bring lots of sunscreen
- White and hats are the informal dress code
- Look at the 2 days Pass or 3 days Pass: enables you to benefit from a special price if you hold seats for the 1/2 finals + finals or 1/4 + 1/2 and finals.
- Qualifying Pass: allows you to benefit from a special rate for seats reserved during the first week-end
- The subway station you get off at is only open for the tournament and then there is a pleasant 10 min walk to the MCTC. However, the last train travelling East is at 19:05 and can often overlap with play. Not to worry, there is still a bus option to Monte Carlo and from there you can get most places.
- Wi-Fi in Monte Carlo is notoriously bad. Google Fi does not work at all in Monaco (even though they say on their website it will), Verizon was very spotty and AT&T worked the best of all. However, free wifi is offered at the tournament.
- Want to play tennis nearby? Mouratoglou Academy (Serena’s coach) is worth a trip about 30 minutes away in Biot, France and a lesson. An Uber will cost you around 60 euros.
Back to: Tournament Guide to the Monte Carlo Rolex Masters.
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Back to: Tournament Guide to the Monte Carlo Rolex Masters.
hello melissa,
thanks for the website and information. we are visiting france from April 10-18. we are staying at the Mourataglou hotel for the 1st 4 nights in Biot. attending the monte carlo tennis tournament on Wednesday april 15. have tickets on the Rainier court that day, did not know you had to buy addition ticket for the prince court till i read your blog site. thanks !! any suggestions on where to stay for the last 4 night of our trip. we are considering Cannes, Nice, or Monte Carlo. we are hoping for a Sea View. I wonder if we should just stay at the Mouratoglou resort for the whole stay. At this point we are not renting a car. I went to Mallorca Spain last year and rented a car and rarely used it. parking was very tough also.
We would thinking of just unerring it or renting scooters. thought that would be fun way to get around What do you suggest on these two pointes.
we will for sure give Barhi a call and mention you.
Thanks Bruce
Hi Bruce. Mourataglou was awesome if you’re going to play there. We only went for a short day lesson but it was a blast and the campus was sooo nice. I bet it would be amazing to stay there. It may be worth staying at Mourataglou for your whole trip – but the drive is an hour each way on the day(s) you are going to the tournament. I have no idea about parking, but it did not look fun to drive in Monte Carlo at all. Our Monte Carlo hotel picks are here: https://tenniseventguide.com/monte-carlo-rolex-masters#hotels. Not cheap, but they are some of the nicest hotels I’ve ever seen and where the players stay, so there’s all kinds of tennis events going on while you are there. We booked Airbnb which was horrible! The town, Beausoleil, was lovely, though and I would recommend staying there and taking local public transport to and from the MCM. Nice is also a beautiful city but you’ll be an hour away as well. Enjoy the tournament – it was a BLAST and you will have a great time!