In April 1896, the first Monte Carlo International lawn tennis tournament was established. The first men's singles was won by George Whiteside Hillyard, according to
Wimbledon librarian Alan Little. He states that the women's event was won by either a Miss K. Booth of Great Britain or a Mlle Guillon of France; despite extensive research, he could not conclusively find the results. The tournament was played on the
red shale clay courts of the Lawn Tennis de Monte-Carlo club in cellars underneath the Grand
Hôtel de Paris until 1905. In 1906, the event and club was moved to
La Condamine where it was played between then and 1914 and again in 1920. It was played briefly on the roof of a garage in
Beausoleil before three tennis courts were constructed with spectator stands and a new club house on 28 January 1921; the new venue was named the "La Festa Country Club". It became an "
Open" event in 1969. In 1971 to 1972 and from 1978 to 1989 it was a major tournament on the
Grand Prix Tour. In 1973 the tournament was part of the Rothmans Spring Mediterranean Circuit. From 1974 to 1977 the tournament was part of the
World Championship Tennis (WCT) circuit. In 1990 it became an ATP
Championship Series Single Week tennis event (later called the Masters series). Beginning in 2009, Monte Carlo became the only Masters tournament not to have a mandatory player commitment.
Rafael Nadal won the title eight consecutive times between 2005 and 2012, making him the
only tennis player in the Open Era to win eight consecutive titles at the same international tournament. In 2018, Nadal won his eleventh title, the all-time record. ==Prize money==