PARIS – Tennis has a massive problem with sports betting, and the solution is far from simple, according to Chilean player Alejandro Tabilo.
“It’s almost impossible to regulate, since most of the big sponsorships for some tournaments come from betting,” the ATP No. 30 told CLAY in an interview during Roland Garros.
Tabilo has received so much abuse on social media that he has almost gotten used to it. However, bettors sometimes cross boundaries that are hard to tolerate. “Messages also reach my family; that part, I think, is a bit tough. I don’t know, getting a message sent to my girlfriend is also more worrying, so of course, it affects you a little bit more.”
The three-time ATP champion also spoke in the interview about his excitement at the prospect of facing Carlos Alcaraz in the Davis Cup tie between Chile and Spain in Santiago this September, as well as his dream of reaching the second week of a Grand Slam.
– You won a Challenger on the clay swing and you’re getting close to your career-high ranking. How are you feeling?
– I feel great, with a lot of confidence. I’ve been training well these past few months, including at Roland Garros. I’m happy to be here, at another Grand Slam. Really pleased with how we’ve been building up physically over these months.
– You say “another Grand Slam.” I don’t know if it’s already like a routine for you or if you still have that first-time excitement.
– Every Grand Slam you get to is always special, and I try not to take it for granted, to appreciate a little bit everything we’ve done. It’s incredible to see how many years we’ve been playing now, and it’s beautiful to be here. Grand Slams always give you that illusion of trying to be your best and move forward. Reaching the second week at some point would be very beautiful.
– How is this new stage with Germán Gaich as your coach going?
– It’s being very nice, and we are building a good team. We spent a couple of weeks in Argentina all together and it was really good. We’ve had a lot of victories; it’s been very positive. Starting is always tough, but I’m very happy. We’ve been working much more on court, trying to do new things, and I think that’s the important thing—always being there trying to improve and upgrade everything.
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– In September, there is a Chile-Spain tie in Santiago. Do you prefer Alcaraz to go?
– I don’t know. We already went through that with Serbia, which was almost the same thing there, regarding whether we wanted Djokovic to play… In the end, you can always ask or want something, but it’s their decision. For Chile, it would be great if Alcaraz comes; you always want to try to beat the best, and having a full Spanish team there would be incredible. As a tie, it would be beautiful, but obviously, you always want to win, and whoever comes needs to know that we are going to be very solid. We have a very good team, so hopefully, it works out for the best as we try to get through that tie.
– How do you view the fact that great players pop up in Spain every other minute? Alcaraz appeared before Nadal retired, now the likes of Jódar, Landaluce are coming up…
– I think it’s because of the sports culture that exists in all the big European countries. Spain also has such a huge history of tennis players that I think it’s very difficult for good players not to come out of there. There are many good coaches in Spain too, many good academies, so it’s very hard for them not to produce. A lot of people go to train in those countries—Spain, the United States too—which are countries with a lot of tennis history, and I think it’s more due to that. You can also talk about Argentina; many tennis players and coaches come out of there. I think it’s more about the culture of having so many tennis players and sports in general in those countries.
– You have played against both Alcaraz and Sinner. What is the difference?
– I was just talking about this with my team recently, how I’ve been able to play both of them. I feel Alcaraz obviously has a lot more power, he has a more complete game—he volleys well, has good drop shots, he is extremely fast, he has superhuman strength. And Sinner feels more like a robot to me; maybe he doesn’t have the same speed as Alcaraz nor can he hit it as hard, but he is always at a very high level and he doesn’t drop from that standard and that pace. No matter where you are on the court, he is going to reach the ball and with a consistency that never dips. You have to spend almost the entire match trying to match that or stay above it, and it’s very difficult.
– The problem of betting and insults on social media seems endless. Do you still suffer from it?
– I get them a lot, but after so many years, I think I’ve learned to neither look at them nor think about it. Messages also reach my family; that part, I think, is a bit tough. I don’t know, getting a message sent to my girlfriend is also more worrying, so of course, it affects you a little bit more. But for me, it’s already something of a habit. Hopefully, they can change something.
– Is there a solution?
– It’s something that, no matter how much the ATP does things… there are also many tournaments that are sponsored by betting houses. It’s going to be there for a while, and we have to see how to regulate it a little bit. It’s very difficult for them to get rid of it, so we have to see how to regulate it a bit. But it’s almost impossible, since most of the big sponsorships for some tournaments come from betting, so that makes it tough.
