The Córdoba Open tennis will not be on the ATP calendar in 2025, said one of the organizers

2024-03-05 14:18:43

“On the South American tour, next year Córdoba leaves the calendar and what we have now remains, which is Buenos Aires, Rio and Santiago.” The phrase is from Peruvian Jorge Salkeldformer tennis player and member of the Octagon firm, which has the rights to organize the Córdoba Open, the ATP 250 tournament that has been held at the Kempes Sports Center since 2019.

The statements were published by the Chilean newspaper La Tercera and also by the newspaper La Nación.

In that interview with La Tercera, the now Chilean businessman answered these questions.

–On the other hand, there was a lot of talk regarding the Córdoba ATP ending. Is that so?

–The ATP began to promote five Masters 1,000, Madrid, Rome, Toronto, Cincinnati and Shanghai, which were stretched to 12 or 13 days, which changed the calendar and the need arose to clear the month of July, because Toronto had to be accommodated and Cincinnati. In addition, several ATP 250 were merged to become 500, which will be available in the same weeks. That is the motivation of the tour. Release a product, if you can say, higher. For the players that means that they have a little more obligations to play the 1,000, and the 500, which are not so difficult obligations in my point of view, because they are good tournaments all around; interesting prizes and points. Now, what I do tend to hear from players is that they don’t like to spend two weeks in one place, because if they lose in the first or second round, they have to wait 12 days for the next tournament. Well, in terms of your health, it is better. This is how they rest, replenish, train. But psychologically, players like to play. They are very competitive. In other words, they don’t like to stay… What’s more, when they get injured, what they want most is to return to competition. And sometimes they come back very quickly…

–So, is Córdoba leaving the calendar?

–On the South American tour, next year Córdoba leaves the calendar and what we have now remains, which is Buenos Aires, Rio and Santiago.

La Voz tried to contact the communication area of ​​the Córdoba Deportes Agency, which is in charge of the Kempes Sports Center and has not yet received a response. The same thing happened with Mariano Ink, the director of the Córdoba Open.

In principle, the Córdoba Open had a contract with the ATP for 10 years. That is, until 2029.

What was known regarding this possible departure of the Córdoba Open from the calendar

La Voz published a report on the future of the contest. It was two days following the end of the 2024 edition, in which the Argentine/Italian Luciano Darderi won.

The 2025 circuit does not yet have a defined calendar, but it does have important changes planned, among them, that the Masters 1000 will have two weeks of competition and the possibility of adding one more. Where? Saudi Arabia. So, for some tournaments to grow or new ones to enter, others must leave their place. And those most at risk are the ATP 250 (the lowest category within the circuit).

“It does not depend on Córdoba. We are attentive to everything that can happen with the circuit, but it is not something we can handle. There will be a calendar rearrangement and we will see what happens. “We have expectations, waiting for that,” he expressed to The voice Mariano Ink, director of the tournament, which this year celebrated its sixth edition.

For his part, Agustín Calleri, president of the Córdoba Sports Agency, added: “I hope we have more tournaments. Year following year, the number of spectators grows and it is not easy to get people used to the fact that it has an important international tournament. It is a matter of ATP beginning to improve the calendar issue because it is important that the tournament stays with Córdoba and in Argentina.”

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