The brutal impact of Alcaraz in the Vienna tournament: "We had never experienced anything like this"

Carlos Alcaraz is much more than a tennis player. His overflowing charisma, exquisite tennis skills, and ability to convey emotions with his talent and attitude on the court make him the leading figure in world tennis at this moment and a golden goose for the tournaments that manage to have his participation. This is the case for the ATP 500 Vienna 2026, which has experienced a historic edition thanks to the presence of the Spaniard.

The tournament Erste Bank Open 2026 has once again surpassed its attendance records. After reaching 82,000 spectators last year, this edition has set a new record. Both Wiener Stadthalle and Marx Halle (the two venues for the tournament) welcomed over 90,000 tennis fans for the first time. The Marx Halle alone attracted around 1,000 more visitors per day than in 2025.

For its part, the Wiener Stadthalle posted a sold-out sign on Monday for the first time in the tournament's history and maintained full capacity for all seven days of the main draw. Such a thing had never happened before. There is hardly any room for improvement unless we find a way to add a few more seats somewhere, joked the tournament director, Herwig Straka.

Alcaraz has revolutionized the Vienna tournament

The organizers of the Vienna tournament will start working to try to sign a long-term agreement with Carlos Alcaraz so that, in exchange for a monetary amount, he commits to attend whenever he can and not participate in the Basel tournament. This is something common in the world of tennis that Federer started with his agreement with the Halle tournament and that the Murcian already has signed with Queen's. He was asked about it at a press conference.

"I felt very comfortable this week in Vienna. I really enjoyed being with the fans who came to the matches and with all the people involved in the tournament, who made both my team and me feel very comfortable here. Who knows what tournaments I will play next year, but if I have to compete this week, Vienna will probably be among my top options".

This is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, El brutal impacto de Alcaraz en el torneo de Viena: "Nunca habíamos experimentado algo así"