Changes in the Golden Swing? Chile Open Director suggests hardcourts could raw more tennis stars

The director of the Chile Open, Catalina Fillol, discussed the possibility of a surface change for the South American tour in the coming years to attract more stars, who prefer to remain on hardcourts during the gap between the Australian Open and the Sunshine Double.

South American tournaments have traditionally been played on clay, but this surface is becoming less appealing to players. The tournament director, aunt of world No. 38 Nicolas Jarry, explained that the timing and surface make it difficult to negotiate with big names.

“When I talk to players about the tournament, as soon as I mention it’s on clay, they shut the door. I can’t even make a formal proposal,” Catalina Fillol told Clay Tennis.

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“The removal of Córdoba weakens the tour, but at the same time, many players complained that the schedule was too packed. They already play a lot of matches during the year, and that was one of the reasons the ATP decided to shorten the calendar and cut some ATP 250 tournaments.”

“What really hits us is the upgrade of February’s hardcourt tournaments to ATP 500 status,” she added. “It hurts because, ultimately, it gives players even more reason to choose hardcourts before Indian Wells.

“In South America, with clay courts, it’s much harder to attract players since they’re coming off a major hardcourt swing in Australia and preparing for another big one in the United States,” Fillol said. “The upgrades to Dallas and Doha make it even tougher for us, especially when it comes to drawing top names.”

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The Chile Open had offered a wildcard to Brazilian rising star Joao Fonseca, who ultimately declined. The 18-year-old only plans to play the Argentina Open and Rio Open during the Golden Swing before heading to the U.S. for the Sunshine Double at Indian Wells and the Miami Open.

Fillol noted, however, that there are still interesting players who make the South American tournaments appealing, mentioning French talent Corentin Moutet, whom she compared to Nick Kyrgios and former No. 1 Marcelo Rios. “Players like him create a different type of engagement. There’s an audience that is drawn to them not just for tennis, but for the controversy they generate.”

“The task for the three remaining tournaments on the tour (Buenos Aires, Rio, and Santiago) is to make more noise. We need ATP representatives to come and see what we’re doing and understand they need to support the South American tour, to see the potential we have here with such a passionate tennis fan base.”

“One thing that impresses Europeans about South America is the energy in the stadiums, something they don’t have in many other countries. When I watch tournaments on TV with no spectators, it honestly breaks my heart because players love playing in front of a crowd. They thrive on the energy we bring,” concluded the Chilean, daughter of former world No. 14 Jaime Fillol.

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