Tennis enthusiasts in the city can rub their hands together and get ready with confidence. Barranquilla will host a Women’s Tennis Association (WTA, for its acronym in English) tournament, which awards 125 world ranking points and a $200,000 purse.
“It is the most important event in the history of tennis in Barranquilla,” confirmed without hesitation Jhan Fontalvo, organizer of the competition that will be held at the Racquet Park from August 12 to 19.
In other words, in just over a month, the city will have outstanding and renowned professional tennis players in action on the WTA Tour looking for points to improve their world rankings.
The WTA 125 tournaments bring together rackets ranked from 30 to 100 in the ecumenical rankings.
“The WTA wanted to hold hard court tournaments in South America because they want to promote tennis in the region on that surface, and they contacted me to tell me where one could be held in Colombia. I told them it was in Barranquilla, which has a beautiful setting,” explains Fontalvo from Bogotá.
“Last year we hosted a W60 there, which is governed by the ITF (International Tennis Federation), but this is the first time a WTA has come to Barranquilla. The week chosen to hold the tournament is great because it is before the US Open, which is played on the same surface and height as New York. Many players come for points. And in Barranquilla there are direct flights to the United States”, added the tennis businessman who already brought Futures and Challengers tournaments to ‘Curramba’, among others.
According to figures from Jhan Fontalvo, the tournament will cost around 1,300 million pesos. He hopes for the support of the mayor of Barranquilla, just like last year, in the W60.
The tournament will be called Barranquilla Open WTA 125. The white sports community in the Atlantic capital is very excited about the news.
“It is something historic for our city, a WTA 125. Barranquilla is always present at the major national and international events. Hard courts at sea level, that’s what these organizations are looking for. Having hotels and clinics close to the stage is also an advantage,” said Juan Abuchaibe, president of the Atlantic Tennis League.
Source: El heraldo
I’m George Gonzalez, a professional journalist and author at The Nation View. With more than 5 years of experience in the field, I specialize in covering sports news for various print media outlets. My passion for writing has enabled me to craft stories that capture the attention of readers all over the world.
