Confidence of top tennis players towards Mexico

During the four days before the start (November 10), the players were landing in Guadalajara to acclimatize to the 1,600 meters of height on which they are playing, but also to soak up the atmosphere and culture, since they were transferred to Tlaquepaque and Tequila to learn about some of the most notorious traditions of Jalisco.

– What position has Mexico gained in world tennis with this tournament and what impression do you have of the organization?

– “Mexico has made a great bet to take charge of this tournament, which is almost the most important of the year. It requires a lot of work, a lot of things to plan, this is excellent for the country and for all of Latin America, positioning itself as a benchmark in tennis and I hope that other countries will follow this example of courage. I have seen a lot of commitment from the organizers until the last day, leaving all the details we need ready, everyone is very impressed by the work that has been done in Guadalajara in just two months ”, he responded to this newspaper, Garbiñe Muguruza, ranking 5 in the world and one of the two Spanish qualified for the 2021 Finals.

In addition to Muguruza and Swiatek, the Czech Barbora Krejcikova and Karolina Pliskova, the Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka, the Greek Maria Sakkari, the Estonian Anett Kontaveit and the Spanish Paula Badosa are also present, all of them are top 10 in the world ranking and will compete in the singles category.

The best eight doubles pairs of the season are also classified, among which the Japanese Shuyo Aoyama and Ena Shibahara, the Taiwanese Hsieh Su Wei and the Belgian Elise Mertens, as well as the Canadian Sharon Fichman and the Mexican Giuliana Olmos stand out. became the first representative of the country to qualify for a Finals since this tournament was born in 1972.

– At some point were you afraid of traveling to Mexico due to the handling of the pandemic?

– “In the end, the pandemic is still around the world, it is there, it is a priority issue in the world but in the end if this tournament is held and if the city is available to do it it is because we will be quite controlled, the WTA he controls this issue very well and makes us feel very calm with a large protocol ”, Paula Badosa, current number 10 in the world, told El Economista.

The estimate of the economic spill is 450 million dollars, a figure compiled from the last antecedent in China, says Gustavo Santoscoy. Although for Mexico it is one of the most important events in its history and that is being exploited with 16 sponsors (eight of them are Mexican), for the WTA It represents a challenge not only because of the speed of the change of venue, but also because of the economic losses of the year, which are reflected in a decrease in prize money from 14 million dollars in 2019 to only five in 2021.

“All the Asian part (of WTA Tour) it was not possible to play and financially that has been very difficult for us and also for the sponsors. For example, the WTA Finals that are going to be played in Guadalajara when they were going to be in Shenzhen (China), we did not know it until September and we were with everything in the air and that affected us financially. It is a big challenge for all of us who are here ”, mentioned Micky Lawler, president of the WTA, to the EFE agency before the Finals 2021.

Even so, for the players, accustomed to the best scenarios on the planet, Mexico is meeting expectations and some hope that other venues in Latin America can be repeated, as Garbiñe Muguruza mentions.

“I feel that Paula (Badosa) and I can be favorites because we have similar cultural aspects with Mexico, such as the language. When they told me that there was the possibility of playing the Finals in Guadalajara, my reaction was like ‘Are you sure?’, I was very nervous and excited, since then I said with more enthusiasm that I wanted to participate, because it is not the same for me to play in China, which in Latin America, had a great effect on me and I think it would be very interesting to see a date in South America at some point, ”Muguruza concludes.

[email protected]

kg