SANTIAGO, Chile – With uncertainty looming over the future of smaller tournaments, the Chile Open says its continuity is guaranteed. According to tournament director Catalina Fillol, the threat of disappearing or losing its ATP 250 status amid the cuts the ATP is planning does not apply to the Santiago event.
“We’re breathing easy because Octagon, which owns the date, is committed to keeping the tournament in the country,” Fillol told CLAY in an interview after the edition that crowned Italy’s Luciano Darderi as champion.
The head of the event that closes the South American clay swing believes other tournaments will be the victims of the reduction, and that nothing and no one will remove the Chile Open from the calendar.
“It’s very difficult to take away an event that is played with a full stadium, even though we had semi-finals and a final without Chilean players. We’re very calm; we’ve grown in attendance, infrastructure, sponsors and improvements for the players,” she said.
“The goal is to continue reducing the number of 250 tournaments,” said ATP president Andrea Gaudenzi during the ATP Finals last November. The remark sent a chill through organisers of the lower-tier events on the main tour, and is partly explained by the addition of a tenth Masters 1000, set to debut in 2028 in Saudi Arabia, most likely in February.
For Fillol, a swing in a region geographically distant from the sport’s main global hubs would not be sustainable with only two events.
“There are places in the world with many tournaments: ATP 250s, 500s, Masters 1000s. The South American swing cannot afford to lose events, and the ATP understands that very well, because there are only three in the region.”
Gaudenzi visited South America for the first time since becoming ATP president in 2020. The head of men’s professional tennis was present during the final days of the Argentina Open in Buenos Aires and attended the start of the Rio Open at the Jockey Club Brasileiro in Gávea.
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The former professional player was reportedly very impressed by the scale and atmosphere of both events, according to what the organisers of the Argentine and Brazilian tournaments told CLAY.
The Italian did not travel to Chile, something that makes sense to Fillol: “It’s normal. Buenos Aires has a long history compared with us; it’s a very well-known tournament. Rio is a 500, so it’s also normal for him to be there. It’s very difficult for someone from the ATP to be away from the office for so many days in a row — I wasn’t expecting him to spend a full week in the region just to stay another two or three days in Santiago.”
“It’s very positive that he came to South America so he could see the energy and the growth of the tournaments. Here in Santiago we had several ATP representatives who witnessed what we did. We’re on the right track,” Fillol told CLAY.
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