Andy Murray
made the call for the ATP to have a Masters 1000 tournament in South America,
gaining support in the tennis world, including backing from
John Isner, Diego
Schwartzmann, and
Boris Becker.
Currently,
the Golden Swing comprises four tournaments played in February on clay: Cordoba
Open, Argentina Open, Rio Open, and Chile Open. Among them, only the Brazilian
tournament is an ATP 500, while the other three are ATP 250 events.
Historically,
South America has produced great talents for the Tour, including world No. 1s
Guga Kuerten and Marcelo Rios, Grand Slam champions like Guillermo Vilas,
Andres Gomez, Gaston Gaudio, and
Juan Martin Del Potro, as well as Olympic
champions Nicolas Massu and Fernando Gonzalez. Current players like Nicolas
Jarry,
Francisco Cerundolo, and
Sebastian Baez continue to shine.
In the
Golden Swing, besides offering fewer ranking points, the timing overlaps with
hard court tournaments in Europe and the United States, making it more
appealing for players transitioning from the Australian Open to the Sunshine
Double without changing surfaces.
Known for
the enthusiastic atmosphere, Murray expressed on X (formerly Twitter) that the
ATP should consider having a Masters 1000 in that region of the world:
"Unpopular
opinion; South America should have its own dedicated swing on the tennis tour
with its own masters series. The way the fans support the tournaments there is
incredible. Amazing atmospheres and is clearly part of their sporting culture. Vamos
@atptour," Murray wrote.
The
Argentine former world No. 8, Diego Schwartzmann, expressed his support for
Murray and called on the ATP to consider a more significant tournament to
attract the world's top players. Boris Becker, John Isner, among others, echoed
his sentiment.
"Let
@atptour know this Andy! Every year they put us less support. Not just because
of how the fans support the tournaments. Also how many players we have and we
had on the top as u know. We deserve more than this from atp. Thanks for your
words," Schwartzman wrote.
"Why
unpopular?!? You’re absolutely right about your opinion Andy! Tennis should go
to countries/continents where tennis is booming."