“I feel like they are boycotting it": Mariano Navone slams ATP over shrinking South American swing

Mariano Navone has launched sharp criticism against the ATP for what he calls a 'boycott' of the South American Golden Swing. The former world No. 29 strongly disagrees with the calendar changes, which appear to favor Masters 1000 events to the detriment of ATP 250 and 500 category tournaments.

The ATP announced the calendar for the upcoming season, bringing bad news for the region. Only three ATP-level tournaments remain in South America: Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro, and Santiago, all played on clay, as confirmed by tennis's governing body.

The "Golden Swing"—a traditional stop on the calendar following the Australian Open—has lost strength in recent years. The Cordoba Open was removed from the schedule (last played in early 2024), leaving the South American tour with one less tournament. The swing already faces difficulties generating interest among the biggest global stars.

While the tour once featured Rafael Nadal, and in recent years has attracted Carlos Alcaraz or Alexander Zverev, it has struggled to draw a larger number of top-tier figures. The events are being displaced by North American tournaments like Dallas and Delray Beach, or European tournaments in Rotterdam and Doha—all of which are played on hard courts.

Although the tournaments in Buenos Aires, Rio, and Santiago have demonstrated immense public interest—with packed stadiums throughout the events—this enthusiasm has not been reflected in terms of economic sponsorships, TV broadcast rights, or the prize money offered to players.

Furthermore, the long journey for European or North American stars to reach South America often involves dealing with significant jet lag. The change in surface does them no favors either: with clay tournaments taking place in the middle of February, players opting to travel to South America are forced to adapt from the hard courts of Australia to South American clay, only to switch back to hard courts just a couple of weeks later for the "Sunshine Double"—with Indian Wells and the Miami Open being two of the season's most important events.

While the ATP has opted to keep only three tournaments in South America, not everyone agrees with the decision, especially South American players. Navone himself has found a significant amount of ranking points in tournaments closer to home, most notably reaching the Rio Open final in 2024 as a qualifier, alongside various wins in Buenos Aires, Cordoba, and Santiago.

The current world No. 72 recently participated in the presentation of "Las Finales"—an initiative by the Argentine Tennis Association to promote interclub tennis in the country. The event will feature up to 12 top-100 players, including Francisco Cerundolo, Sebastian Baez, and Tomas Martin Etcheverry, along with international guests like Emilio Nava and Thiago Tirante.

Navone was a central figure at the draw and took the opportunity to answer questions from the press. According to We Love Tennis, Navone used the occasion to criticize the ATP for not involving the South American continent more deeply, despite the passion shown by the public during the tournaments traditionally held in February.

“All of this is strange, it is difficult. The ATP's ideas are sometimes a bit controversial,” commented the 24-year-old player. “I feel like they are boycotting it. This is the circuit that sells the most tickets. It saddens me because we are a country with an incredible tennis tradition. These are obstacles in our path. They are tournaments that sell very well. I don't understand this perspective," concluded the former world No. 29.